After sitting out Week 1 with a calf injury, former Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson made his Pittsburgh Steelers debut on Saturday night. His performance will sound familiar to Broncos fans.
Wilson led five drives, including one that went into field goal range (the attempt missed). He went 8-of-10 passing for 47 yards and was sacked three times, losing 21 yards on those sacks. That gave Wilson a net average of two yards per passing play in an eventual 9-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Justin Fields played with Pittsburgh’s second-string offense and he went 11-of-17 passing for 92 yards. Fields was sacked once for five yards. He also rushed eight times for 42 yards (Wilson did not log any rushing attempts).
Wilson was sacked 100 times in 30 games with the Broncos, which is part of the reason why coach Sean Payton decided to eat an NFL-record $85 million worth of dead money to cut Wilson this spring. Denver’s three quarterbacks did not take any sacks in the team’s preseason opener last week.
The Broncos are set to host the Steelers in Week 2 this fall. If Wilson is Pittsburgh’s starter, that game will be must-watch television.
