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Russell Wilson played his first snap as a Pittsburgh Steeler against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday and he was anything but impressive.
The one-time Super Bowl champion had just eight completions for 47 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions in five drives. He was sacked thrice, and went three-and-out four straight times, with his last drive ending in a missed field goal:
He was pulled for Justin Fields, prompting mockery on social media.
More of it can be seen below:
"How's Russell looking Steelers fans?" one checked in.
"So glad Wilson is out of Denver!" another rejoiced.
"Glorious," another's sarcasm manifested.
Russell Wilson’s poor preseason performance might have just spelt the end of his career
When the Steelers acquired Russell Wilson after his release from the Denver Broncos, head coach Mike Tomlin did so without personally consulting him or Sean Payton, as he recently admitted to ESPN’s Sal Paolantanio:
"It’s just Steelers conducting Steelers business, man. We gather information. We do our appropriate research, and we make decisions and we don’t look back. We don’t seek comfort from the opinion of others that are non-Steelers, respectfully."
And apparently, that lack of vetting has resulted in the current situation.
On Friday, former linebacker Emmanual Acho had this to say about Wilson on SPEAK:
"Mike Tomlin specifically said practice isn’t going to decide who starts; the preseason game is. So even from a micro level, this preseason game means more to Russell Wilson than practice. I believe that there is no more pressure on any individual player this preseason, and maybe over the last decade in a preseason, than there is on Russell Wilson."
Today's performance doesn't add to his case as a starting quarterback in the NFL. The Buffalo Bills won the game 9-3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Justin Fields looked better than Wilson and had a couple of jaw-dropping plays. He completed 11 of 17 passes, throwing for 92 yards. Fields also rushed for 42 yards in eight carries.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Detroit Lions on Saturday in their final preseason game.
