ESPN’s Ben Solak Names Russell Wilson, Justin Fields Steelers’ X Factors For 2024 Season

Though veteran Russell Wilson enters the 2024 season as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the general belief is that backup quarterback Justin Fields will have some sort of role during the season for the Black and Gold, and ultimately could be the starting quarterback for the franchise at some point in the season.

A lot rides on the play at the quarterback position this season for the Steelers, who have a star-studded defense and have upgraded the offensive line along with bringing in a proven commodity in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. 

After going 10-7 last season and reaching the playoffs, the Steelers are aiming to take the next step as a franchise, getting over the hump in the playoffs. Doing that this season will be tough with a very difficult schedule, especially late in the season after the Week 9 bye week.

Therefore, the quarterback position is going to be under heavy scrutiny.

For ESPN’s Ben Solak, both Wilson and Fields are the Steelers’ X factors for the 2024 season.

“I must be honest and admit that functional quarterback play is such a big deal in Pittsburgh that I will break my non-QB rule and focus on Wilson and Fields. I know for a fact this is a playoff-caliber roster because Mike Tomlin has dragged it to the playoffs, year over year, despite the intolerable play of Kenny Pickett and Duck Hodges and Mason Rudolph and late-career Ben Roethlisberger,” Solak writes for ESPN.com. “If Wilson, the Week 1 starter, can provide value as a deep-ball artist or quick-game distributor, it will help the Steelers go from funny playoff story to actual playoff threat.

“And if he can’t? Then perhaps Fields’ legs, which long kept poor Chicago offenses afloat, will do the same in Pittsburgh. As long as the Steelers get, say, the 20th-best quarterback play in the league this season, they should win double-digit games. Big if!”

Functional QB play for the Steelers is of the utmost importance.

Last season, the Steelers didn’t really get competent quarterback play until Mason Rudolph stepped into the lineup in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He led the Steelers to three straight wins, including two straight games in which they scored 30 or more points, something they had struggled to do in the Matt Canada era.

Things are different now with Wilson and Fields in the fold. The Steelers seemingly upgraded their quarterback position, bringing in a proven winner in Wilson, and a potential future franchise quarterback in Fields with all of the talent in the world but needing a reset after three tough years in Chicago.

Wilson’s deep-ball abilities and his quick-game distributions, as Solak pointed out, will be key. It’s what fits well in Arthur Smith’s offense, which will need to carry its weight this season after it was a defense-heavy team the last few seasons for the Steelers. While they have the horses defensively to do that again, the Steelers’ offense has to be better and more competent.

That’s why Smith was brought in.

On the outside looking in, the QB situation might not be all that encouraging for the Steelers. But if Pittsburgh can just get functional, competent QB play, the offense should be solid with a great run game, and the defense will create short fields and limit points once again. That theoretically should lead the Steelers to 10 or 11 wins and another playoff berth.

How far they go after that though will be up to the quarterback position.