• Steelers head into Week 14 with a 1.5-game AFC North lead: Wilson completed Week 13 towards the Bengals with a season-high 80.3 PFF total grade and helped lengthen his staff’s division lead after the Ravens’ loss.
• Wilson’s “moon ball” stays potent: The veteran’s skill to throw deep has by no means wavered. His 95.7 PFF total grade on throws over 20-plus yards this season ranks second amongst quarterbacks.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full entry to all of our in-season fantasy instruments, together with weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Begin-Sit Optimizer and extra. Enroll now!
Estimated Studying Time: 4 minutes
Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers obtained again on observe with an enormous win over the divisional foe Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. They now have a 1.5-game lead within the AFC North, and quarterback Russell Wilson is again to his previous, Tremendous Bowl-winning methods.
Wilson completed the sport with an 80.3 PFF passing grade and an 85.7% adjusted completion proportion — each season highs. Whereas it’s a small pattern dimension, Wilson’s 78.4 PFF total grade can be the best season grade for a Steelers quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger in 2018. It might even be Wilson’s finest mark since 2020.
*By Week 13
The Steelers have been looking for a quarterback for years now, attempting to recover from the hump of being an eight- or nine-win staff with an amazing protection and a struggling offense. They appear to have discovered that quarterback in Wilson.
The Bengals’ sport plan was to maintain every thing beneath, which they did, resulting in Wilson’s 4.8-yard common depth of goal. Nevertheless, when given the chance, Wilson made them pay with some incredible deep throws.
Russell Wilson ripping seams with anticipation in 2024. pic.twitter.com/WWIrPxSPb1
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) December 2, 2024
Within the above play, the Bengals come out in a two-deep look — nevertheless it’s not a typical two-high protection the place everyone seems to be taking part in zone. They’re taking part in a mixture of man and zone rules. The security on the backside is bracketing George Pickens, whereas the protection on the prime is trying to match the innermost route. Wilson picks up on it and is aware of that, due to the footwork from the protection on the prime, he has no shot of staying excessive of the seam route by Calvin Austin. He is aware of Austin will win on this route based mostly on the cornerback having his hips closed to the sector. Wilson throws the ball with excellent anticipation for a landing.
One factor that’s by no means modified with Wilson’s sport is his skill to throw deep. His 95.7 PFF total grade on throws over 20-plus yards this season ranks second amongst quarterbacks.
Russell Wilson patented moon ball pic.twitter.com/uJRejkfWYA
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) December 2, 2024
His “moon ball” is talked about rather a lot, and rightfully so, with the high-arcing passes nearly at all times touchdown completely in receivers’ palms.
Pre-snap within the above clip, Wilson is aware of precisely the place he desires to go along with the ball. The movement exhibits the Bengals will play man protection, that means he’ll have George Pickens one-on-one on a deep fade towards a rookie cornerback. He confirms that it’s man protection post-snap, and with the protection having to work from the far hash, it’s a simple resolution that results in an ideal moon ball for a large first down.
The Bengals then determined to modify issues up on protection and began to indicate much more strain appears to be like. Wilson took benefit of these, as properly.
Russell Wilson ripping seams with anticipation in 2024 (half 2) pic.twitter.com/SUBUnGxV36
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) December 2, 2024
With eight defenders on the line of scrimmage, Wilson is aware of he’ll have to get the ball out shortly. Within the above clip, the Bengals find yourself dropping out and taking part in Cowl 3. The Steelers have an ideal play name for it. They run 4 verticals, which assaults one of many weaknesses of Cowl 3: the seams. Wilson is aware of that after they drop out, they don’t have any probability of selecting up the seam route. And with the protection on the alternative facet of the sector, Wilson simply has to beat him. He does so with nice anticipation whereas having a free move rusher in his face.
When Wilson was within the prime of his profession, his skill to carry out out of construction was among the many finest within the NFL. Clearly, that hasn’t dissipated.
DangeRuss pic.twitter.com/dDU57WOUo1
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) December 2, 2024
On this clip, the Bengals drop eight defenders into protection and Wilson seems like he must scramble. He may have stayed within the pocket longer and gotten to the bottom of the idea, however he chooses to make a play out of the pocket. Pat Freiermuth sees him scrambling and breaks off his route, discovering the open zone. Wilson makes an amazing throw whereas falling with a defender in his face, and Freiermuth does the remaining for the landing.
The Steelers are rolling proper now and are in an amazing spot to win the AFC North. They’ve a troublesome remaining schedule, with three extra video games towards the AFC North and contests towards the 10-2 Eagles and 11-1 Chiefs. You would look to that as a cause why Pittsburgh would possibly begin to decelerate, however Russell Wilson has the Steelers wanting like a reliable risk within the AFC.
