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Mike Tomlin: A little less rust for Russell Wilson, not surprised by his capabilities

The Steelers were 4-2 with Justin Fields as their starting quarterback, so there was some risk to the team’s decision to switch to Russell Wilson before their Week Seven game against the Jets

After two games, it’s hard to imagine anyone is questioning head coach Mike Tomlin’s choice. The Steelers posted a season-high 409 yards in beating the Jets in Wilson’s first start and they beat that with 426 yards in Monday night’s 26-18 win over the Giants. The team has made nine passing plays of more than 20 yards in the two wins and they’ve scored 63 points after averaging 20.7 points per game in the first six weeks.

Wilson was 20-of-28 for 278 yards against the Giants and the Steelers posted 167 yards on the ground as the upgraded passing game has made life more difficult for defenses across the board. After the win, Tomlin said he thought Wilson looked far removed from his long layoff to start the season.

“I just thought he didn’t need to warm up to it,” Tomlin said at his press conference. “A little less rust than the week before, but I’m not surprised by his capabilities.”

Wilson’s two seasons in Denver created some doubt about those capabilities, but his first two games in Pittsburgh have been a lot more promising.