In this week’s “3-&-Out” column, we look at the stellar contributions of Pittsburgh’s role players and how Mike Tomlin was vindicated for his Russell Wilson gambit in Pittsburgh’s 37-15 win over the New York Jets.

Chef Russell

I don’t know where, exactly, the “Let Russ Cook” mantra came from. It’s a little goofy, and it makes laugh every time I hear it. But Mike Tomlin is a subscriber. Despite a solid body of work from Justin Fields that got the Steelers to 4-2 through the first six weeks of the season, Tomlin was adamant that Wilson wasn’t brought to town simply to carry the groceries. Once Russ was healthy, he had every intention to let him cook.

On Sunday night against the Jets, that’s precisely what Wilson did. Slowly at first. Maybe it was the new kitchen in which he was working, getting acclimated to where coordinator Arthur Smith keep the utensils and the like. The Steelers kicked a field goal on their opening drive but then authored three consecutive three-and-outs, which drew boos from a home crowd who, like I, deemed the quarterback switch a bit dubious. Once Wilson found his footing, however, the offense took off. After producing just 52 yards on its first 16 plays over four drives, they gained 367 yards on 53 plays and scored the contest’s final 31 points.

What changed? How did Wilson go from “Russ should wash the dishes” to “Let Russ cook!”? The simplest answer is the Steelers found a connection between Wilson and George Pickens that produced chunk plays and backed off New York’s defense. The Jets, like most of Pittsburgh’s opponents, played their safeties low early in the contest to get an extra tackler in the box against the run. Najee Harris had an 18-yard rush on Pittsburgh’s opening drive, but his next seven carries gained eight yards total. Then, once Wilson began to find Pickens, the box lightened and Harris had room to run. He gained 75 yards on his final 13 carries. Wilson lobbed up jump balls to Pickens for gains of 44 and 37 yards over that stretch, and Pickens also drew a pass interference penalty that added another 29. Tight end Pat Freiermuth got into the act as well. Freiermuth had a 30-yard catch-and-run and made a beautiful one-handed snag off of a nicely-designed 3rd-down pick play in the 3rd quarter.

Lots going on here. Nice little pick to free up Muth, fantastic catch to finish the play. But watch the blitz pick up by Warren. That’s a thing of beauty… pic.twitter.com/l5pJ1phX5Y

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) October 21, 2024

Freiermuth wasn’t the only tight end active in the passing game. Darnell Washington, all 6’7-280 pounds of him, caught four passes for 36 yards. Those numbers aren’t staggering, but when you consider he had just 13 catches for his career coming in, it was nice to see him targeted. If nothing else, getting the ball to Washington forced New York defenders to tackle him, which they did so begrudgingly, to say the least.

Wilson’s ability to make those chunk plays, and the 37 points they helped produce, is probably the biggest reason Tomlin made the quarterback switch. While Fields had played well, Pittsburgh was averaging 20.2 points per game entering the contest, which ranked in the bottom third in the league. That was an improvement over the 18-or-so they’d averaged the previous few seasons, but probably not enough to allow them to compete with teams like Buffalo, Baltimore and Kansas City. The Steelers’ defense will keep them in most contests. They are yielding just 14.4 points per game, which was second best in the league to the Chargers before L.A.’s game against Arizona on Monday night. But those numbers will be hard to duplicate against the front-runners in the AFC. If Pittsburgh is going to play with the big boys, they will have to score more points.

Tomlin believes Wilson can get them there. On Sunday night, he was vindicated for his faith. Russ was cooking, and the Steelers had a feast.

The No-Name defense

Former Cowboys coach Tom Landry used that moniker — the “No-Name Defense” — to describe the Miami Dolphins of the early 1970s because of the fact their unit, while one of the most prolific in the NFL, lacked big names or players with proven star power.

Nothing could be further from the truth in Pittsburgh in 2024. The Steelers have one of the highest-paid defenses in the league and feature household names like T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick. But against the Jets, it was the team’s lesser-known cast that led a stellar effort to shut down an allegedly high-powered New York offense.

The player who got the biggest headlines was cornerback Beanie Bishop, an undrafted rookie from West Virginia who had struggled the past few weeks and whose grip on the starting slot role seemed to be slipping. Bishop was victimized by the Cowboys two weeks ago and blew a coverage assignment on Dallas’s game-winning pass in the final seconds. He had been out of position at times and seemed to be struggling with assignments and responsibilities. But Bishop re-wrote that narrative Sunday night, intercepting Aaron Rodgers twice and setting up two Pittsburgh touchdowns.

Bishop’s first pick came on a beautiful play late in the first half where he opened his hips as receiver Garrett Wilson attempted to sneak behind him on a seam bender and snagged the ball with one hand. The Steelers were trailing 15-6 at the time and the Jets seemed poised to take over the game. Pittsburgh converted Bishop’s takeaway into a four-play, 54-yard drive that culminated in a Wilson-to-Pickens touchdown pass with just 27 seconds left in the half.

One heck of a play by @Steelers undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/VYhBEwDNNi

— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024

Then, on New York’s second drive of the second half, Bishop did it again. This time he nearly tipped a sideline throw to Wilson, seemingly distracting the receiver to the point where the ball bounced off his chest and into Bishop’s arms. Bishop then weaved across the field to the one-yard line, setting up a touchdown plunge by Wilson on the ensuing play.

Have a night, Beanie Bishop Jr.!

The rookie has his second INT of the game 🔥

📺: #NYJvsPIT on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/dGxn4DyTtU

— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024

(By the way, if you read the comments beneath the Twitter clip above, take note of the guy who wrote “Davante Adams has more tackles than TDs for the Jets.” That’s a nice piece of snark).

Bishop’s contributions helped turn the tide in the football game. But he wasn’t alone. Rookie linebacker Payton Wilson made 10 tackles and provided necessary athleticism at the second level to combat New York’s skill players. Safety DeShon Elliott was a physical presence, making sure tackles and delivering sound hits. Elliott, who dons the number 25 once worn by Ryan Clark, has a similar style of play to the former Steelers safety. He leads the teams in tackles and has been an excellent addition to the defensive backfield. James Pierre, re-signed by the Steelers in mid-September, yielded a few completions in coverage but no big plays. Pierre chipped in with five tackles as well.

Most NFL fans would struggle to recognize the names of Bishop, Wilson, Elliott and Pierre, but their contributions to Pittsburgh’s defensive effort Sunday night were stellar.

Special, Indeed…

Lost in the intrigue of the quarterback switch and the Aaron Rodgers-Davante Adams reunion was the play of Pittsburgh’s special teams, which had a fantastic night.

The headliner was the field goal and extra point block unit, which knocked down two New York kicks. The first, by Minkah Fitzpatrick, was nullified by a garbage penalty on which the referees determined that Fitzpatrick used leverage, which is illegal, by pushing off of other players to catapult himself over the line. Replays clearly showed this not to be the case. The penalty moved the football to the 1-yard line, where the Jets went for two and converted. So, rather than leading 13-6 at the time, New York led 15-6. That mistake by the referees turned out to be a non-factor, but it could have been costly.

Later, the Steelers blocked a field goal attempt that was a thing of beauty. Four Pittsburgh defenders, led by Dean Lowry, leapt up at the center of the line to form a human wall over which kicker Greg Zuerlein could not elevate the football. The score was 23-15 at the time, and the Steelers took the ensuing possession and marched 75 yards for a touchdown that effectively sealed the win.

This is awesome… pic.twitter.com/6EPlhBUqjV

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) October 21, 2024

Elsewhere, kicker Chris Boswell was his normal self, nailing three field goals and four extra points. Boswell is now 19-20 on field goals this season, with his only miss from 62 yards, and 14-14 on extra points. Punter Corliss Waitman had several strong kicks as well, including one that was downed at New York’s 7-yard line and two others inside the 20. The kickoff team flew down the field all night long and tackled soundly. New York returned five of Pittsburgh’s seven kickoffs, with their best starting position their own 28-yard line.

The highlight of the night, though, may have been watching 70-year old special teams coach Danny Smith celebrate with his unit after the blocked field goal. The joy and comedy of Smith being mobbed by his players was a beautiful moment:

The @steelers love their special teams coordinator Danny Smith ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QmhwK5tw6C

— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024

From offense to defense to special teams, the win over New York was Pittsburgh’s most complete team effort of the season.

And Out…

A quick note about Pittsburgh’s uniforms. The block letters and gray facemasks. I’m all in…

Follow me on Twitter @KTSmithFFSN and look for my video breakdowns of the Steelers every Wednesday on the SCN YouTube channel. You can also catch my “Call Sheet” podcast every Thursday wherever you find your favorite shows.