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THE stumbling Pittsburgh Steelers have left the First Take crew divided just two weeks into the preseason.
Saturday’s 9-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills marked their second defeat in as many weeks for Pittsburgh.
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Moreover, through two games, the new-look Steelers offense has mustered just 15 points.
Former Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson, who signed for Pittsburgh in an attempt to resurrect his career after a rough stint with the Denver Broncos, has struggled early on.
In total, he threw for just 47 yards on eight completions in his debut against Buffalo.
Meanwhile, Justin Fields, who was acquired via a trade from the Chicago Bears this offseason, has racked up a mere 159 passing yards on 16 receptions through his first two games.
Following their latest loss, Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and Molly Qerim debated the state of Pittsburgh’s offense, as well as their quarterback conundrum on First Take.
Smith, who is known for not holding back his opinions, was particularly critical.
He claimed he was “very disgusted” by the Steelers’ “awful” offense, even going so far as to claim Pittsburgh had “last place written all over them.”
And while he admitted that Pittsburgh’s “offensive line didn’t look impressive,” he still felt that more should have been expected from Wilson.
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“You still expect better from a Super Bowl champion, that’s a nine-time Pro Bowler, that’s been around for a long enough time, you expect Russell Wilson to look better than this,” Smith claimed.
“And the fact that you didn’t see that Molly, that you didn’t see that Shay Shay, it just speaks to the level of slippage that [Broncos head coach] Sean Payton proclaimed he had.”
Exactly which comments Smith was referring to is unclear – although rumors surrounding Payton and Wilson’s rough relationship are longstanding.
Qerim, however, felt expectations for Wilson should be tempered.
“I get the AFC North and it’s as thick as thieves when you look at those quarterbacks, it’s some of the best in the NFL, but Stephen A., it’s Week 2 of the preseason, it’s two new quarterbacks, it’s a new offensive coordinator, calm down,” she told her co-host.
Smith immediately told Qerim to “hold on,” telling her in a sarcastic tone, “That is very disrespectful Molly.”
After she labeled Smith’s take “a little dramatic,” he got back on his bandwagon.
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Smith insisted that while he understood that these were merely preseason games, his concern was more founded in the fact that he felt Wilson still looked “similar to what Sean Payton complained about.”
This wasn’t enough to convince Qerim though, who called on Smith to “relax.”
“Molly, we saw some of this slippage in Seattle. We saw some slippage in Denver. We see some slippage again,” Sharpe replied, backing Smith up.
Wilson will have an opportunity to show he’s still got it in their third and final preseason game at the Detroit Lions on August 24.
The Steelers will then open their 2024 season at the Atlanta Falcons on September 8.
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