Steelers' Russell Wilson Had To Do Something For The First Time In Seattle To Destroy Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers now have a veteran Russell Wilson on their roster, but historically, he is a player the organization has struggled to take down. Wilson squared off against the Steelers three times while he was with the Seattle Seahawks, and he went 2-1 in those matchups, often out-dueling Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers and Head Coach Mike Tomlin hope to see Wilson perform in 2024 like he did when he was with Seattle, but the perennial Pro Bowler hasn't been able to play at that level in quite some time.

Wilson was always near the top of the NFL when it came to quarterback play during his time with the Seahawks. He made the Pro Bowl nine times while with Seattle, and was named an All-Pro once as well. He was as consistent as it came at the position, and it always seemed like the Seahawks were contenders with him running the offense. He sat down with his new teammate Cam Heyward on the Not Just Football podcast, and they were rehashing some of the battles they have had over the years. One game Wilson remembered vividly, was their matchup during the 2015 season.

"Funny thing about that game is, that was on my birthday. I think it was Sunday night, Monday night, whatever it was, I was sick as a dog. I was throwing up everywhere, it was one of those things. I had the stomach flu, my stomach was crushing me bro. I had multiple, I had like four IVs during that game. I was literally sitting on the sideline like, just let me know when it's time to go back out there. It was back and forth, Big Ben and I were going back and forth."

Wilson was able to lead his team to a victory in the game, despite his serious illness. Seattle won the contest by a score of 39-30. Wilson managed to throw for 345 yards and five touchdowns, which turned out to be one of the better performances of his career. Roethlisberger impressed as well with 456 yards, but he threw just one touchdown and two interceptions. He had to be replaced by Landry Jones due to an injury, who also threw two interceptions in just four pass attempts.

The game took place in Seattle, which is notoriously known as one of the harder stadiums to play at on the road. The only issue for the Seahawks was that the Steelers' fan base traveled better than any other fan base in the NFL during that time (arguably) -- and still do to this day. Road games often turn into home games for Pittsburgh to the passion of the fan base. Wilson spoke about the environment during that game back in 2015.

"You know what the thing about the Steelers fans is we travel so well. We travel just unbelievably well. I remember at one point in the game I had to go silent count which never happened in Seattle. It was like ok, I got to go silent count right now, this is a first."

Silent count is a technique used by an offense that refers to a quiet cadence by the quarterback so no one needs to rely on hearing their signal-caller. It is usually done by a quarterback giving some sort of a nonverbal signal to one of the offensive guards, who then taps the center to let him know the offense is ready to roll. The center can then snap the ball whenever he wants. Pittsburgh fans have the ability to take over stadiums that they are able to force an offense playing at home to have to do this. Wilson still found a way to dice up Pittsburgh's defense, however.

Steelers' Russell Wilson Knows What The Offense Needs To Do To Succeed

Wilson may not be the same player he once was when he was taking the Steelers on back in 2015, but he has plenty of experience which could benefit Pittsburgh in 2024. The quarterback is entering his 13th season in the league, and knows what it takes to have team success. Pittsburgh is expected to rely heavily on the run, and trust Wilson to take care of the football and not put the offense in harms way. 

Should fans expect to see some resemblance of what was seen from Wilson in Seattle? Are his good days completely behind him? Let us know in the comments below!

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