Russell Wilson couldn’t carry the Denver Broncos to the playoffs and now is expected to achieve the feat with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wilson had a 11-19 record with the Broncos and was nowhere near the post season. But the problem doesn’t just lie with Wilson, some of it also had to do with Nathaniel Hackett, and some with Sean Payton.

Hackett was Broncos HC in the 2022 season and was fired after an abysmal performance. Wilson and the Broncos finished 5-12 in that season. Then, the Broncos decided to hire Sean Payton, who was coming off a break, which changed everything for the team. The Denver team still had a losing season, but it was not that worse, thanks to Sean Payton’s experience. Russ was expelled, but Sean Payton was not. The Broncos went to great length to prove that they didn’t want Russell Wilson by taking on an $85 million dead cap and hiring a rookie quarterback. So where does that leave the Steelers? The hosts of SPEAK had a debate about the same.

Emmanuel Acho, who claimed to be Russell Wilson’s friend, didn’t hesitate from point out the flaws in Wilson’s stars. “I hate what I have to say because of anybody on national TV, I think I love Russ most. In large parts because I love Russ, who Russ is as a man,” said Acho. Despite the compliments, it didn’t take long for him to switch sides completely.

“I don’t know why we think Russ is going to go to Pittsburgh and ball. There’s more data that supports Pittsburgh who go to Pittsburgh and struggle and fall,” said Acho and went on to praise Sean Payton for his efforts. “I mean Sean Payton is one of the greatest offensive minds of the generation, we all know that. So of course, Russ will take a step up when he’s coached by one of the greatest offensive minds of the generation.”

Hackett went 4-11 with the Broncos in a year, and Payton did slightly better and came out with an 8-9 record with Russell Wilson. A famous contention about Wilson’s performance was that he chose to break the rules, extended a lot of plays, and took too many sacks, which ultimately led to the team trading him to the Steelers. So, where Russell Wilson is now, is completely a whole different environment. An environment solely focused on defense.

Can Russell Wilson be a reliable offensive figure in a defense-oriented system?

First things first, the Steelers have a whole new quarterback room this year with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at the helm. But that’s not all, former Atlanta Falcons head coach has now joined the Steelers as their offensive coordinator and that’s where the problem lies. Have the Steelers done enough to step into the season fully prepared?

Another thing to note here is that the Pittsburgh team is infamously defense oriented with players like TJ Watt, Cam Heyward, Joey Porter Jr., Deshon Elliott, and Patrick Queen handling things, and that’s just some of them. Per the Steelers, they gave up 7.6 point on average in the second half of the game, which is third best in the league.

A fun fact about TJ Watt, he’s the only player in the NFL history to lead the league in sacks for three different seasons. He was singlehandedly responsible for 40% of the Steelers’ sacks. Not only that, but the Steelers finished with 13 most QB hits with Watt leading with 36, followed by Alex Highsmith with 18 and Markus Golden with 10 sacks.

These are only a few reasons why Pittsburgh’s defense carried the team on their backs in the last season. The quarterback department wasn’t all that solid. All this is new for Tomlin because he’s working with a new OC and new QBs and Tomlin’s infamously has never had a losing season. To Wilson’s defense, his first year with the Broncos wouldn’t have been comfortable, especially with a new offense, new terminologies, new coaching staff and such, and now he’s in the same position with Tomlin’s team again.

It would not be too crazy to assume that Wilson may falter this year. Also, with players like Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Aaron Rodgers returning again, Wilson’s chances of performing take a hit and a time will come when he’ll struggle dealing with Burrow, Rodgers, Herbert, besides the obvious contenders in the AFC.