PITTSBURGH (AP) — Russell Wilson wants another shot to get the Pittsburgh Steelers offense heading in the right direction before the regular season starts.
The veteran quarterback said Wednesday he anticipates playing in Pittsburgh’s preseason finale against Detroit on Saturday. Wilson played five mostly listless series in a loss to Buffalo last week after dealing with a calf injury that limited his participation in training camp.
“Last week was great to be out there for the first time, putting more pads on and everything else,” Wilson said. “And obviously, we didn’t get the win and everything else, but I think the big thing for us is just executing and us making our plays and doing our thing.”
Pittsburgh’s starting offense has failed to produce a touchdown in either of its two preseason games. The offensive line had serious issues protecting Wilson and Justin Fields against Buffalo, allowing four sacks.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he would likely wait until the “11th hour” before deciding who would be in the lineup against the Lions, though Wilson said “we’re all playing” in hopes of generating some positive vibes before Pittsburgh opens the regular season at Atlanta on Sept. 8.
“I think the most important thing for us to accomplish is to play efficient football, move the ball and down the field,” Wilson said. “Obviously we want to celebrate in the end zone. That would be fun. We need to make sure that happens, and that’s the standard of football we want to be able to play in.”
First-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith praised Wilson’s willingness to play during the preseason despite the calf issue.
“I give Russ a lot of credit for going out there,” Smith said. “I think a lot of guys in this situation may have tapped out. He hadn’t had enough reps. He wanted to go out there.”
Smith indicated he limited the play-calling to try to not ask Wilson to do too much while he recovers from the injury.
“There’s things schematically you don’t want to put him in harm’s way,” Smith said. “There’s risk in every everything when you step out there. And so I think that limited him a little bit, but I give him credit for being out there, and that’s the name of this game.”
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