Gerry Dulac: Russell Wilson outduels Aaron Rodgers, provides glimpse into what future can be for Steelers offense

Gerry Dulac / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It might have been a slow start for Russell Wilson in his Steelers debut. But it didn’t take long for the former nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback to warm up and provide a quick glimpse into what he can mean for the Steelers offense.

And why Mike Tomlin wanted to make the switch.

Wilson threw two touchdowns, ran for another and led an offense that finished off the New York Jets with 31 unanswered points in a 37-15 victory Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium — the most points the Steelers have scored since a 41-37 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 21, 2021.

“I thought he was excellent,” Tomlin said. “He got better as the game went on. I’m not surprised by that.”

The victory guarantees the Steelers (5-2) will at least remain tied for the AFC North lead with the Baltimore Ravens, who play in Tampa Bay on Monday night.

In a battle of likely future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Wilson outdueled the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers, throwing for 264 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 109.0.

After a slow start in which he completed just two of his first eight attempts – and drew a smattering of boos after just the third series – Wilson completed 14 of his last 21 attempts for 245 yards, including touchdowns to George Pickens and Van Jefferson.

“I kept telling the coach, ‘I’m going to get hot here,’ and sure enough we did,” Wilson said.

Wilson had five completions of at least 21 yards, including two to Pickens of 37 and 44 yards that set up two of Chris Boswell’s three field goals.

After the Jets took a 15-6 lead with 5 ½ minutes remaining in the first half, the Steelers scored 31 unanswered points — the most since they scored 36 to start a 43-14 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 2, 2016.

“He certainly knocked the rust off and distributed the ball around and played well,” Tomlin said.

Rodgers was 24 of 39 for 276 yards and a touchdown, but he was intercepted twice by undrafted rookie cornerback Beanie Bishop — the latter that included a 41-yard return to set up a 1-yard sneak by Wilson for a 23-15 lead.

It was appropriate symmetry for Bishop, who was playing in front of another undrafted player, Hall of Fame safety Donnie Shell, who also wore No. 31. Shell, who was in attendance as part of the 1974 Super Bowl team that was being celebrated at halftime, led all strong safeties in interceptions at the time of his retirement.

“It’s awesome for him to get his first two interceptions off a guy like Aaron Rodgers,” Tomlin said.

Najee Harris went over 100 yards for the second game in a row, gaining 77 of his 102 yards in the second half when the Steelers outscored the Jets 24-0. His 34-yard run to the Jets 15 set up Wilson’s 4-yard touchdown to Jefferson, who was playing in front of his dad, Jets wide receiver coach Shawn Jefferson.

Harris scored the final touchdown on a 10-yard run with 26 seconds remaining, capping a 13-play, 75-yard drive that ate 7 ½ minutes off the clock. It was only the second time in Harris’ career he has had back-to-back 100-yard games.

The Steelers trailed 15-6 after Rodgers threw a 1-yard touchdown to tight end Tyler Conklin with 5:29 remaining in the second quarter. But the defense shut out the Jets for the final 35 ½ minutes, thanks to Bishop and a blocked field goal by defensive end Dean Lowry. It was the third game in a row the Steelers have blocked a kick.

The offense did the rest once Wilson knocked off the rust.

“It’s been a while,” Wilson said. “It’s been six weeks without playing. I’m just grateful for my teammates. The defense was lights out against a really good quarterback.”

It took Wilson a while to get going — he completed just 8 of 17 passes in the first half — but he took advantage of an interception from Bishop to throw an 11-yard touchdown to Pickens with 27 seconds remaining in the half. It was a vintage Wilson throw — lobbing it softly over the head of cornerback Brandin Echols where Pickens could high-point the ball with a two-handed catch in the corner of the end zone.

It was a good way to end the half for Wilson, who completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Darnell Washington on his first attempt, eventually setting up Boswell’s 46-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

In between, though, it was mostly an array of misfired attempts, even drawing some boos from the home crowd by the end of the third series.

The Jets took a 7-3 lead on a 13-yard run off the left side by running back Breece Hall, a drive in which Rodgers completed 5 of 5 passes for 54 yards.

Wilson, though, got the crowd back on his side with a 44-yard completion to Pickens down the left side, leading to a 29-yard Boswell field goal to cut the lead to 7-6.

But the Jets came right back three plays later when Hall took a short pass from Rodgers and ran 57 yards to the Steelers 3, breaking three tackles along the way. That led to a 1-yard touchdown to tight end Tyler Conklin. When Minkah Fitzpatrick was penalized after blocking the extra-point attempt, the Jets went for two and converted with Rodgers’ nifty pass to receiver Garrett Wilson to make it 15-6.

After that, the Steelers outscored the Jets 31-0, starting when Wilson threw the 11-yard touchdown to Pickens with 27 seconds remaining in the half to make it 15-13.