The Pittsburgh Steelers seemed primed for a great season in 2024. At one point the team was 10-3 and had firm control of the AFC North, and even had a shot to get the one seed in the AFC if a couple things went its way. That did not end up happening as the team fell apart during the final stretch of the regular season. Pittsburgh collapsed and finished the year with a 10-7 record, and the team was forced to travel to play the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round after basically giving away the AFC North.
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Steelers' Russell Wilson fumbles against the Baltimore Ravens during the 2024 season.
A once-great season fell apart relatively quickly, as the Steelers lost their final four games of the regular season and then got embarrassed once again in the postseason. It was the same end to what was once a promising campaign, and the Steelers need to attack the 2025 offseason looking to figure out what went wrong.
Team insider Gerry Dulac shared what is going on behind the scenes in Pittsburgh in his mailbag on Wednesday as the organization looks to figure out what contributed to the 2024 collapse.
"That's exactly what's being debated internally." Dulac wrote. "How well the offense operated (averaged 29 points per game) for the seven games when Wilson replaced Fields. And let's not lay what happened the final five games merely on the fact Wilson was limited with the audibles."
Changing from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson seemed like the right move for the offense at first. Wilson propelled the offense to scoring 29 points per game, but that number quickly dwindled as the season went along. The offense did not score over 17 points once during the final five games of the season, including the postseason.
AP Photo / Matt Freed
Steelers' Russell Wilson and Justin Fields warming up before a game in 2024.
Wilson began to struggle over the final four weeks of the regular season and then into the playoffs. The offense was not what it once was with him at the helm, and the team was consistently getting blown out. It is important to note that the Steelers had one of the tougher schedules over that stretch of time. Their end of the year losing streak began with the Philadelphia Eagles, then the Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals followed, and the Ravens again in the playoffs.
Those are all great teams, with two of them eventually squaring off in Super Bowl LIX. It became clear that the Steelers would not be able to compete with the better teams in the NFL, and the season was utterly lost.
The debate within the building for the Steelers is likely centered around figuring out how much of the blame falls on the shoulders of Wilson. This will then play into the quarterback decision moving forward, as both Wilson and Fields are slated to hit free agency. If Wilson was the main reason the offense struggled and the team fell apart, fans should prepare for Fields to be the starting quarterback in 2025.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Justin Fields runs against the Eagles during a Week 15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024.
Steelers' Justin Fields Should Have Had More Opportunities
Head Coach Mike Tomlin looked like a genius when he replaced Fields with Wilson. Fields got the team off to a great 4-2 start, and he showed major improvements from his time with the Chicago Bears. He also adds a certain layer to the offense thanks to his athleticism and mobility. The only qualm with re-signing Fields is that the organization hasn't seen a ton of him, and there is some mystery behind how he might play as a starter.
Some fans might say if Tomlin were smart and saw his team falling apart while the offense was barely scoring 14 points per game, he should have replaced Wilson with Fields. At the very least the Steelers would have been able to see how he operates against good opponents and whether or not he could be worth a long-term commitment.
What do you think the Steelers are thinking behind-the-scenes? Let us know in the comments below!
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