You remember how Russell Wilson looked for the last two-plus quarters of the Steelers 37-15 victory over the Jets at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday night? That’s how a franchise quarterback is supposed to look.

OK, maybe it was just adjacent to how a franchise quarterback should perform, but it was close.

After my initial paragraph, I feel as if I must exercise caution because I know someone will come along and say, “Let’s slow down. It was only one game.” Fine, but a lot of fans were staking their literal lives on Justin Fields being the Steelers’ starting quarterback this season and beyond based on six games that weren’t even in the same universe in terms of franchise-quarterback-level play as what Wilson provided for the offense after he shook off the rust sometime before the end of the second quarter on Sunday. Heck, it didn’t even take six games for many fans and pundits (mostly national pundits) to exclaim that Fields was THE MAN and that Pittsburgh should ride with him and not the veteran who made “Let’s Ride” famous (in a corny way, of course). Hell, people were ready to proclaim Fields the starter based on how he looked at training camp, or at least how he performed during the preseason.

But did Fields ever truly pass the eye test at any point before being benched in favor of Wilson? I don’t think so; maybe that’s why it’s hard to call Fields’s benching a benching. Wilson was brought in to be the No. 1, while Fields was acquired to be the No.2, someone who could (say it with me) sit and learn behind Wilson for a year. Fields was always the backup. Yes, head coach Mike Tomlin acted coy and non-committal from the moment it was announced that Wilson had aggravated his training camp calf injury before Week 1 up until the days before he started his first game against New York. But that was likely a confidence boost for Fields more than anything else. Maybe Tomlin was using Fields’s six starts as an audition for the future; he wanted to see and feel what it was like to have the star from THE Ohio State as his starting quarterback. Fact is, Fields did okay for himself over those six games. He showed flashes of brilliance. Speaking of which, you might even say he put the entire lifeless team on his back and almost dragged it to a comeback victory over the Colts in Week 4.

All-in-all, Fields completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 1,106 yards while throwing five touchdowns to just one interception. Extrapolated out over 17 weeks, that would amount to 3,133 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and just two picks. Fields posted a passer rating of 93.9, which you’ll take from your quarterback all day long (especially on Sundays). And how about those legs of his? What weapons. Fields added another 231 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

If you’re counting at home, that’s 10 touchdowns to just one interception and one lost fumble.

While we’re talking about the fans, yours truly did go on the record after Pittsburgh’s 20-10 victory over the Chargers at Acrisure Stadium in Week 3 and say that it would be best for everyone involved–you, me, the Steelers–if Fields morphed into the franchise quarterback the Steelers needed. The reasons given were talent and age.

But while it might be best for business in the long run, Fields didn’t do enough to force Tomlin’s hand over those six starts. Fields may have shown flashes of brilliance, but there were a lot of mistakes. No, not in the form of turnovers, but you did see a lot of indecisiveness in the pocket. He was often inaccurate on passes that franchise quarterbacks should make in their sleep. He was also more inclined to take off and run and less inclined to sit in the pocket for another beat or two and find his second or third option.

As for the offense as a whole? It was a slightly sexier version of what we saw the past two years with Kenny Pickett and/or Mitch Trubisky leading the way. I mean, 3,100 passing yards isn’t exactly a lot in today’s NFL. And 14 touchdowns over 17 games? I don’t care if you throw zero interceptions, that’s just not going to get it done.

Yes, Fields is young and talented, but let’s be real,  should a fourth-year quarterback still look so much like a rookie? I mean, the way those national pundits talk about Fields’s development, you’d think he was in his fourth game and not his fourth year.

I’m sorry, but franchise quarterbacks aren’t like the show Seinfeld; they don’t struggle for three years before finally hitting in Season 4. By the first or second season, you usually know if a young quarterback has the goods. The fact that we’re still waiting for Fields to finally get over the hump is perhaps an indication that he may never be that guy.

The Steelers owe it to themselves to turn over every rock until they find that guy, and that’s why it was a smart decision to go with Wilson against the Jets. Fields was pretty good over his six starts, but to quote Tomlin: “Good isn’t to be confused with great.” Franchise quarterbacks are great and they elevate their team. They’re difference-makers.

Wilson was that against New York.

No, he wasn’t deadly accurate; 16 completions in 29 attempts doesn’t look great on paper, but most of his completions did damage. He averaged 9.1 yards per attempt; that’s a Super Bowl stat right there, my friend (you can look it up). Fields has only eclipsed seven yards per attempt once for an entire season (2022).

Wilson was a field general and knew how to direct his guys pre-snap and where to find the open ones post-snap. This is no disrespect to Fields. Wilson is a future Hall of Famer with years of experience under his belt. He’s won a Super Bowl. He’s played in another. He better know what to do and when to do it. But what he showed me on Sunday night is that he still has the physical tools needed to go along with his quarterback acumen.

This isn’t to say Wilson is the Steelers’ franchise quarterback and should be their starter for the next five years. What I am saying is that Pittsburgh’s next franchise quarterback will play a lot like Wilson did against the Jets.

When the Steelers have their guy, you won’t have to cite wins and losses as your main reasoning, your bottom line for why he should start. You’ll just know he’s the guy. He’ll play like it, and his team will respond like it. You’ll be able to look at him and the Steelers and know they’re good enough to get it done in the postseason.

I truly feel like the Steelers can do some damage this year if Wilson continues to play quarterback the way he did against the Jets on Sunday.

That’s how you should feel every year with a franchise quarterback.

I know it’s fun to debate the Steelers quarterback situation. It’s exciting to wait for Tomlin’s weekly press conference and whether or not he’ll name a starter for the next game. But that stuff will be meaningless and absurd when the Steelers have their guy.

They’ll know it when they see it, and so will you.