Russell Wilson Compares Steelers to Seahawks Super Bowl Team

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback sees similarities in championship contenders.

Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws a pass against the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have put together their best start to a season since 2020. After outlasting the Baltimore Ravens 18-16, the Steelers are 8-2 and in first place of the AFC North.

Most notably, the Steelers are in the middle of a five-game win streak -- four of which came after quarterback Russell Wilson was given the starting job back. Wilson has yet to lose in a Steelers uniform. Considering Pittsburgh's record and their performance against a perceived Super Bowl contender, the Ravens, it's time to think about what the Steelers could do in January and maybe even February. But playoff dreams are hard to have when the Steelers haven't won a playoff game since 2016.

But for Wilson, those dreams don't seem to difficult. Wilson sees similarities between his championship level teams. In 2013, Wilson quarterbacked the Seattle Seahawks to a 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos. The next year, Wilson and the Seahawks returned to the Super Bowl, but fell to the New England Patriots 28-24.

"I've been fortunate to be able to win a championship before. I think that we've, you know, on those championship teams, that Super Bowl team, we just had so much great talent," Wilson said after beating the Ravens. "But the thing about talent is that you also have to have the work ethic, the drive, the will to win and the ability to win close games. The ability to win on defense in a big, key moment to take the lead. You know, like last week when we hit that bomb to Mike Willimas, that was huge to take the lead and the defense to be able to make a stop.

Wilson saw those championship tendencies in the win against the Ravens, as well.

"The defense made a huge, huge stop against a really good offense," Wilson said on the defense's performance against Baltimore. "And on a two-point conversion [stop] to continue the lead and keep the lead at 18-16. To have a big-time kicker in [Chris Boswell]. Those are the type of Championship moments you have to have."

The NFL is an "any-given-Sunday" league, as everybody knows. Any team can make 'championship' plays on any-given-Sunday. But Wilson wasn't shocked the Steelers made the plays necessary to defeat their biggest rival. Nobody was.

"And the best part is nobody blinked," Wilson said. "Coach mentioned that too, you know, don't blink. We didn't blink. We stayed focused. We stayed in the moment. And so, we haven't done anything yet, though. We have a lot more to go. We got a lot more football to play. That's the part we embrace, that's the challenge that we enjoy. So we're just going to stay the course. We're going to keep believing in each other. We're going to celebrate this, as I said, for two hours, and move on. And know that we got a tough rivalry football game coming up again, you know, in Cleveland."

The Steelers continue their four-straight division game stretch with a road trip to Cleveland on Thursday Night Football -- the third primetime game the Steelers have played in the Russell Wilson era.

The playoffs are still far away. The NFL Playoff Picture gives the Steelers a 98% chance to make the playoffs. Even if making the playoffs is almost a foregone conclusion, Wilson is giving lofty expectations to this "talented" roster.

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