Fans were excited to get their first glimpse of Russell Wilson in a Steelers uniform during Pittsburgh's Week 2 preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Unfortunately, their excitement quickly turned to disappointment. Both Wilson and quarterback Justin Fields have struggled to move the chains early in the preseason, and the two well-known quarterbacks have combined to their the offense to just three points scored this summer.
At some point, the Steelers are going to turn things around on offense. At the same time, it's a bit disheartening to look around the league and see how effortlessly opposing quarterbacks have moved the football during the preseason.
One of the biggest standouts from the NFL preseason has been former Steelers quarterback, Josh Dobbs. Pittsburgh's fourth-round pick in 2017 bounced around the league the past few years before taking the NFL world by storm with a stellar performance on the Vikings days after being traded.
This offseason, Dobbs signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a backup to Brock Purdy, and his Niners career is already skyrocketing for this aerospace engineer.
In his first two preseason games, Dobbs raked in 279 passing yards in limited action while chipping in 31 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. His ability to rifle the ball across the middle of the field hasn't gone unnoticed; nor has his ability to extend the play with his outstanding athletic traits.
Dobbs is cruising to the No. 2 quarterback position in San Francisco behind Brock Purdy, and his exciting play has some fans wishing he was still in Pittsburgh.
I'm a big fan of Josh Dobbs. He's a great guy and an exciting player who's easy to root for. But a lifeless Steelers offense needed new faces at the quarterback position. Don't think that the early struggles of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will directly correlate to what we will see in the regular season.
If you recall this time last year, Kenny Pickett was looking like the star of the preseason. He finished all three exhibition games with a perfect 158.3 passer rating. It didn't matter. When the regular season began, Pickett reverted back to his old ways.
While we would love to see Wilson and Fields dominate the preseason, their performance on a handful of drives is hardly a reflection of what we will witness during the 2024 season. Yes, things have been rough, but such is to be expected with new quarterbacks and a new offensive coordinator calling the shots.
If I could trade quarterback Kyle Allen straight up for Josh Dobbs, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But the Steelers have a pair of quarterbacks on their roster in Wilson and Fields who should be able to lead Pittsburgh to more offensive success in 2024 than what they've witnessed the past few years. We just need to exercise patience in all of this.
