Steelers' Russell Wilson back in the playoffs trying to focus on present, not an uncertain future

Updated Jan. 8, 2025 6:28 p.m. ET

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Russell Wilson isn't ready to zoom out.

Maybe because he's almost pathologically predisposed to focusing on the "moment.”

How to prepare for it. How to enjoy it while not letting it define you one way or another.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback used the word 16 times in 10 minutes Wednesday, leaning on it whenever he was asked about the stakes for both his team and his future heading into Saturday's visit to Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs.

“I’m not really worried about ... down the road or anything like that,” Wilson said, later adding “that always handles itself.”

Maybe, but 10 months after the Steelers completely changed their quarterback room to take an inexpensive flyer on a nine-time Pro Bowler who quickly fell out of favor after two tumultuous years in Denver, Pittsburgh finds itself in a familiar spot: entering the postseason with long odds and as many questions as answers at the most important position on the field.

The optimism that mushroomed after Wilson won six of his first seven starts has been blunted by a December fade against the league's elite. Pittsburgh's offense is averaging just 14 points during the four-game losing streak it will take to M&T Bank Stadium, Wilson has often looked indecisive while playing behind an offensive line that has become increasingly leaky.

Still, the Steelers have themselves exactly where they wanted to be when they cut Mitch Trubisky, traded Kenny Pickett and didn't try to stop Mason Rudolph from leaving in free agency.

They're in the playoffs with a solid defense and a chance, even if they're the longest shot in the 14-team field to raise the Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans on the second Sunday in February.

“It’s exciting for all of us because we know how good of a team we are when we play our best,” he said.

Which, he pointed out, wasn't that long ago.

The Steelers were 10-3 after a victory over Cleveland on Dec. 8 and had the inside track on claiming the AFC North. Losses to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Kansas City and Cincinnati soon followed. So did external noise that Pittsburgh's early success was a mirage.

Wilson believes it wasn't, a notion borne not just out of his seemingly bottomless self-confidence but the knowledge culled from having the Super Bowl ring he earned with Seattle more than a decade ago stashed somewhere safe. That victory was hardly a one-off. Wilson has made the playoffs eight times in his career. He has only been “one and done” twice.

“I’ve been fortunate, obviously, to hold the (Lombardi) Trophy and everything else and do some special things in the playoffs,” he said.

Wilson wants to give some of his current teammates — such as perennial Pro Bowlers T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, whose next postseason victory will be their first — “a taste” of that kind of success.

To do it, Wilson and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith will have to figure out a way to get back to the “Let Russ Cook" approach that reached a high point in a 44-38 win over Cincinnati on Dec. 1, when Wilson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns and appeared to be every bit a longer-term option in Pittsburgh.

Now, everything is back on the table. While Wilson's production has marked a significant uptick over what Pickett, Trubisky and Rudolph managed in 2022 and 2023, the Steelers are again starting the playoffs on the road as a massive underdog with an offense that isn't exactly striking much fear in anyone of late.

The Steelers are averaging just 14 points during their skid. Wilson's hesitancy and questionable decision-making — he slid inbounds to keep the clock running and took a sack during Pittsburgh's ill-fated last-gasp drive against Cincinnati last week — have been as much an issue as a spotty running game and sometimes shaky pass protection.

Yet Wilson and Smith have made it a point to not bury themselves in negativity. They have continued their 48-hour before kickoff meetings in which they bounce ideas off each other and pore over video in search of an advantage.

While Smith acknowledged their sitdown before the Cincinnati game was a little longer than usual, it's not as if they pulled out the couch and spent the night.

Yes, things haven't gone the way they've wanted. That doesn't erase the success they had earlier this season.

“You can let negativity creep in,” Smith said. “But if you have that mindset, then you’ll have a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s like, ‘All right, how do we problem solve?’”

That's something the 36-year-old Wilson still embraces deep into his 13th season. He's big on process, reveling in the details.

“It’s all about our effort and how we focus and how we put it together,” he said. “And so that’s the fun part about this game.”

How “fun” Saturday night is could go a long way toward determining where Wilson is working in 2026. He'll be a free agent in March and the competitive juices remain fresh. He still wants to play and do it at a high level.

Leading the Steelers to their first playoff victory in eight years would go a long way toward offering tangible proof he can still be a difference-maker on the biggest stage. It's a lot to think about, which is maybe why Wilson makes it a point not to.

“This is a special moment for all of us,” Wilson said.

Even if it could be his last. In this chapter of his career anyway.

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