Russell Wilson makes history in Steelers debut

PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on steelersnow.com.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s big gamble to start Russell Wilson paid off in Sunday night’s 37-15 win over the New York Jets. Wilson had complete command of the offense and the passing game was leaps and bounds better than what it was under Justin Fields.

In particular, Wilson shined in the play-action game. Wilson aligned under center on 41 of his 66 snaps in Sunday night’s win over the New York Jets, his highest under center rate in a game since 2016 (62.2%), according to Next Gen Stats. Wilson finished 8/9 for 150 yards on under center play-action dropbacks, the most such yards by a Steelers QB in the NGS era (since 2016).

Wilson also made Steelers history, breaking a record that stood for 67 years. Wilson’s 264 passing yards are the most by a quarterback in their first game with the Steelers in franchise history. He surpassed Earl Morrall’s 249 passing yards, which was set in 1957. Wilson is also the first quarterback to lead the Steelers to 30+ points in his starting debut with the team since QB starts were first tracked in 1950, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

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