Russell Wilson didn’t have the best performance in Washington on Sunday. He completed just half of his passes, held him to less than 200 yards, threw a pick, and was sacked three times. But a win is a win. And all three touchdown passes count the same. For the other 31 teams, this isn’t much of a headline. It’s a festival in Pittsburgh.
With this performance, Wilson became the first Steelers QB to throw for three touchdowns since Ben Roethlisberger on December 9, 2021. Including the team’s two postseason losses since then, this span is 1,067 days and 48 games.
To put it into perspective, it was Chase Claypool’s infamous “signal first down” game that proved to be the beginning of the end of his career. Claypool has been traded and fallen out of the league for a long time. That means Pittsburgh’s winning streak is so long that it spans virtually Claypool’s entire career, from NFL starter to journeyman to free agent.
As he did in his three starts, Wilson’s touchdown pass spread the love. One was to WR George Pickens, who made an outrageous twisting catch to put Pittsburgh on the board first. The next hit was to TE Pat Freiermuth, who opened with a strong pick/love concept and was free in the right flat. And last but not least, newly acquired WR Mike Williams won the game. Five different Steelers have caught his six touchdowns this season, and Pickens is the only repeat player, showing Wilson can spread it around.
No matter who the opponent is, he can break the drought by throwing three touchdowns. To give you a national perspective, here are the games since the last three touchdown pass games for the other 31 teams entering Week 10, starting with the most recent.
Atlanta Falcons: Week 9 2024
Baltimore Ravens: Week 9 of 2024
Buffalo Bills: Week 9 of 2024
Cincinnati Bengals: Week 9 2024
Kansas City Chiefs: Week 9, 2024
Minnesota Vikings: Week 9 2024
New York Jets: Week 9, 2024
Seattle Seahawks: Week 9 of 2024
Denver Broncos: Week 8 2024
Detroit Lions: Week 8 2024
Los Angeles Rams: Week 8 2024
Cleveland Browns: Week 8, 2024
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Week 8, 2024
Carolina Panthers: Week 3 2024
Green Bay Packers: Week 7 2024
Chicago Bears: Week 6 2024
Houston Texans: Week 6 2024
New England Patriots: Week 6 2024
San Francisco 49ers: Week 6 of 2024
Indianapolis Colts: Week 5, 2024
Arizona Cardinals: Week 2 of 2024
New Orleans Saints: Week 1 of 2024
Dallas Cowboys: Week 18, 2023
Philadelphia Eagles: Week 17, 2023
Las Vegas Raiders: Week 15, 2023
Los Angeles Chargers: Week 15, 2023
Jacksonville Jaguars: Week 14, 2023
New York Giants: Week 11, 2023
Washington Commanders: Week 10 of 2023
Miami Dolphins: Week 8 of 2023
Tennessee Titans: Week 8, 2023
Pittsburgh Steelers: Week 14, 2021
The Steelers were a full season and a half behind other teams. Fortunately, the winning streak is over. It’s so fun to see the winning moments. Pittsburgh needed everything Wilson could give the team today, and he delivered.
This is another simple but obvious reason why he boosted the team. Some of them are doing baseline and regular quarterback stuff. Can throw over 250 yards. Throw for two or three touchdowns. He consistently leads this offense to over 20 points. But it’s really refreshing to see.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ winning streak extended to four games, ending another drought. At the moment, 7-2 looks pretty good with Wilson at the helm.
