It seemed as if a decision had been made at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And while Mike Tomlin did name a quarterback for the Week 1 game vs. the Atlanta Falcons, Steelers fans should have known it wouldn’t be as simple as Russell Wilson taking the field and proving his worth, or lack thereof.

Thursday there was a giant wrench thrown into the plans after practice when news hit of Russell Wilson being limited with “calf tightness”. Yes, that calf. The same calf which saw him watch the first half of training camp as Justin Fields took the starting repetitions with the offense.

This per Brooke Pryor of ESPN:

Russell Wilson was limited in practice today after reporting calf tightness, Mike Tomlin says.

Asked if there was any long-term concern about Wilson’s calf, Tomlin said, “none.”

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 5, 2024

Tomlin might not have any long-term concerns over Wilson’s calf, but the short-term concerns should be many.

We can run the gambit of questions about how the Steelers will adjust their game plan if the team has to look to Justin Fields to be the quarterback in Atlanta, but that would be missing the point for this article. The point is the unknown absolutely can work in the Steelers’ favor.

Yesterday I wrote about how the Falcons are a team which isn’t known considering they didn’t play their starters at all in the preseason, and there has been a lot of transition on their coaching staff and roster. However, there is plenty of unknown surrounding the Steelers as well. New quarterback room, new coordinator, and plenty of new faces on the black-and-gold for the Falcons to account for, but after this news of Wilson being limited this throws an entire new level of unknown into the game.

It went from the Falcons having to prepare for some Justin Fields “packages”, to Fields might see significant playing time, or even starting, on Sunday in Atlanta.

That’s quite the difference and challenge for any defense, especially to kick off the season.

Whether Fields playing or Wilson playing hampered by a calf injury is ideal will be debated throughout the next few days, but the Falcons not knowing could be an advantage for the visiting Steelers. And when you put it in that context, there is no such thing as a bad advantage and I’d expect Mike Tomlin to do whatever he can to maximize the advantage as long as possible.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Falcons this Sunday in Week 1.