An interception by Beanie Bishop Jr. however, turned into a late first-half touchdown that settled Wilson, and the offense marched up and down the field from there, scoring on the final five possessions of the game, including four touchdowns.

“First of all, I really believe in being neutral,” Wilson said when asked about the negative reaction from the crowd. “Not too high, not too low. … Going into this game, we had a few things early on that we could have had. I felt like it was playoff baseball in the sense that I was 0 for 2 started, but it felt like I was going to get hot. I kept telling the coach: I’m going to get hot here. And yes, we did.’

Wilson generated 264 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 109.0 passer rating in Week 7 while adding a rushing score. It marked the most passing yards by a player in their Steelers debut, breaking Earl Morrall’s record of 249 set in Week 1, 1957.

Wilson had a higher passer rating in Week 7 (109.0) than Fields in any of his six starts in 2024 (Fields’ highest was 104.0 in Week 4 at IND).

“The reality is there’s so much more,” Wilson said. ‘That’s the good news. There is so much more, and we will get better as we go. We keep working. There’s a lot more football left, but it’s a good place to be where we are now.”

The inaccuracy sank the Steelers’ offense early and led to calls for the early hook. But Tomlin stuck with the 35-year-old, and it paid off. Wilson hit several deep shots off George Pickens, which helped open up a previously limited offense. His touch and ability to push through his progressions improved the Steelers’ passing attack compared to what we saw early in the season, especially in the red zone.

“I think throwing that first touchdown to George was the moment where I thought, OK, there’s going to be a lot more, I believe,” Wilson said. “Sometimes it takes that first home run, that first double, whatever it may be. Obviously it’s October, so I’m talking about baseball, but I just think if you put all the hard work in and the guys do the work At some point it’s going to turn in your favor, and that’s what happened tonight.”

The performance was not entirely different from some of Wilson’s best games last season in Denver. If he hits those 50/50 sideline balls to Pickens, the Steelers offense will be dangerous. In the games they miss, it can be a slog. It worked extremely well on Sunday evening.

The 37 points scored were the most by a Pittsburgh team since Week 11, 2021, when Ben Roethlisberger was under center (41-37 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers).