I gotta tell ya, I haven’t been this excited after a Steelers victory in quite some time.

Sure, I was feeling pretty good last January when Pittsburgh defeated the Ravens in Week 18 and got the help it needed to clinch a playoff spot, but everyone knew Mason Rudolph and his island of misfit toys were not the future of the Steelers. Rudolph and the likes of Myles Jack came to life to help save a floundering campaign and get the team into the postseason, but that was going to be it.

When the Steelers signed veteran quarterback Russell Wilson in March, we had an idea of what they could look like in 2024. Unfortunately, a calf injury suffered by Wilson at the onset of training camp delayed those plans for so long that Justin Fields, another beleaguered quarterback Pittsburgh had acquired in the offseason, became the new face of the offense and helped guide the team to a 4-2 start to the 2024 regular season.

But something was missing. The defense was very good over the first six weeks—not great, but good enough to win in today’s NFL. The special teams were more than spectacular. However, that offense, well, it just wasn’t up to snuff. Despite the overall success of the team and the individual efforts of Fields from time to time, Arthur Smith’s offense mostly looked as Saturday-ish as Matt Canada’s did last year and the year before that.

It was time to officially make Wilson the starting quarterback for the Steelers’ Week 7 clash with the Jets at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday Night Football.

However, the offense still struggled at the start of the game and had just six points and four punts to show for its first six possessions with Wilson at the helm.

In the meantime, New York had built a 15-6 lead mostly on the strength of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s veteran arm and running back Breece Hall’s young legs.

The boos were out at Acrisure Stadium, and the decision to start Wilson over Fields, despite the latter’s 4-2 record, was beginning to look like a bad one.

But something changed the second Beanie Bishop, the fast little rookie slot corner from WVU, intercepted a Rodgers pass near midfield very late in the second quarter. The Steelers then marched 54 yards in four plays and got right back into the game on a pretty 11-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to receiver George Pickens with 27 seconds to go before halftime.

It may have taken a while for Wilson to shake the rust off (nearly two-quarters equals a century in modern sports fandom/media hot takes time), but once he did, he spent the rest of the night looking like the missing piece for these 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers.

The running game is a good one, as evidenced by the 149 yards it totaled against the Jets without the help of Fields and his nifty feet. Najee Harris had 102 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, while Jaylen Warren added another 44 on 12 attempts.

Most important was Wilson’s competence at running the offense, getting people in the right place, and being in command. Oh yeah, he continued to make franchise quarterback-like throws, like the perfect 21-yard lob to tight end Pat Freiermuth early in the third quarter that set the offense up at the 13. No, this didn’t lead to a touchdown–it led to Chris Boswell’s third field goal after the drive stalled at the three–but that was a bigtime throw from a capable thrower.

To repeat: The defense is good enough to win in today’s NFL and really likes to take the football away in 2024; Bishop especially enjoyed that on Sunday night and got his second off a deflection from Jets receiver Garrett Wilson. Bishop returned it all the way to New York’s one-yard-line. Wilson did the rest by using his legs and veteran savvy to plunge his body just far enough over the goal line that the officials had to call it a touchdown (he probably scored, but we’ll never know).

The special teams have been amazing at blocking things and blocked Greg Zuerlein’s 35-yard field goal attempt late in the third period to preserve Pittsburgh’s 23-15 lead.

The Steelers continued to pour on the good feels and scored two more touchdowns–including a one-yard strike from Wilson to a wide-open…wait for it…Van Jefferson–to win by a score of 37-15.

Like I said at the beginning of this piece, I haven’t been this pumped up after a Steelers victory in quite a while. Maybe it’s recency bias. Maybe I’m just starved for good quarterback play, but this team really does look like it can now do something with Wilson leading the way on offense.

Put it this way: 5-2 feels way more legit today than 4-2 did a week ago.