Russell Wilson: It's time for Steelers starting offense to 'celebrate in the end zone'

Quarterback Russell Wilson has set a modest goal for the offense in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason finale.

“The most important thing for us to accomplish is to play efficient football, move the ball up and down the field,” Wilson said Wednesday. “We want to celebrate in the end zone. That will be fun.”

It also will be unprecedented this preseason for the starters. The only touchdowns the Steelers have produced in two games have come courtesy of No. 3 quarterback Kyle Allen. He led the Steelers to a pair of second-half touchdown drives in the preseason opener against Houston.

Wilson was shut out in his five series last Saturday against Buffalo. Backup Justin Fields led a second-quarter field goal drive against the Bills — the Steelers’ only points in a 9-3 loss — after not leading the offense to any points on his three possessions in the opener.

“We have to make sure that happens,” Wilson said. “That is the standard of football we want to play.”

Coach Mike Tomlin hasn’t confirmed he will use his starters — or how long they might play — in the game at Detroit on Saturday. He played his starters last year in the preseason finale.

Wilson, though, didn’t leave anything up to interpretation.

“We’re all playing,” he said.

Wilson completed 8 of 10 passes for 47 yards against Buffalo. He was sacked three times, and the offense went three-and-out on three of his five possessions. The Steelers got one first down on each of Wilson’s two other drives, one coming on Najee Harris’ 9-yard run. The other was an 11-yard completion to Van Jefferson that converted a third-and-2 in the second quarter, the drive ultimately ending on Chris Boswell’s missed 52-yard field goal.

“Are we concerned? Absolutely not,” Wilson said. “The reason being is the level of practices we’ve had against one of the best defenses. How we’ve shown up there. The best thing we can do is slow our minds down and play clean football. And enjoy the process.

“There is going to be a time this season when it’s the first quarter and we don’t score. Are we going to panic and worry? Absolutely not. We’re going to win the game in the fourth quarter. That’s the way it’s going to be, and that’s the mentality we have to have.”

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith admitted to scripting a simplistic offensive game plan for Wilson, who was playing in a game for the first time since he injured his calf on the eve of the first training camp practice.

Coupled with the offensive line’s difficulty holding off Buffalo’s pass rush, Wilson had little chance to test his arm. His deepest pass was a heave from the Buffalo 37 to the pylon that George Pickens caught as he went out of bounds.

On most of his other throws, Wilson had to check down to an underneath receiver. Three times on third-and-long situations, Wilson threw short of the line to gain. A pass to Pat Freiermuth gained 10 yards when 12 was needed. Jaylen Warren gained 12 yards on a pass that came up 2 yards short of the first-down marker. On the third occasion, with the Steelers needing 11 yards, Wilson’s completion to Van Jefferson spanned 4.

“We’re not showing much, but we’ll be fine,” Freiermuth said. “That’s the key to winning football games: possession-down football. We understand that. Thankfully, we’ve been learning these lessons when the games don’t necessarily count toward our final record.”

Still, a little splash might provide a confidence boost to an offense that hasn’t consistently stayed on the field during the preseason. Wilson, after all, is working with a wide receiver group that returns just two players from the 53-man roster in 2023.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily about getting anything out of the way,” third-year receiver Calvin Austin said. “It’s about getting stuff cleared up and talked about. At the end of the day, you don’t have to make mistakes. Mistakes are part of the game, and they will happen, but you don’t go into it like, ‘Once we get that out of the way, we’re all good.’

“It’s about learning and the bigger picture and getting into a rhythm with the guys.”

Which hasn’t transpired yet with Wilson and, to a lesser extent, Fields throwing the passes.

“We’ve been so efficient in practice,” Austin said. “But practice is practice, and the game is the game. There, obviously, is a disconnect there, and we practice every day to make sure our next outing is better.”