Russell Wilson, Beanie Bishop lead Steelers to blowout victory over Jets

After a slow start, the ballyhooed quarterback switch paid dividends for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.

The same could be said for the team’s defense.

It took a while, but Russell Wilson got the offense humming, and two interceptions by rookie Beanie Bishop against Aaron Rodgers set up a pair of touchdowns as the Steelers rallied from a nine-point deficit to defeat the New York Jets, 37-15, at Acrisure Stadium.

In his first start since coach Mike Tomlin replaced starter Justin Fields at quarterback, Wilson threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score while helping the Steelers score 31 unanswered points to improve to 5-2 and maintain the top spot in the AFC North.

“We’re doing some good things,” Wilson said after leading the Steelers to scores on six of their final seven possessions. “The reality is there’s so much more out there. That’s the good news. We’ll get better as we go.”

The offense slogged through three consecutive drives that went three-and-out in the first half, prompting boos from the sellout crowd. Then, Wilson found his rhythm and finished with 16 completions in 29 attempts for 264 yards. He threw touchdown passes to George Pickens and Van Jefferson.

“I thought he was excellent,” Tomlin said. “He got better as the game went on. I’m not surprised by that. It’s been a while since he played some ball. I thought he settled in, knocked the rust off and distributed the ball around and played well.”

With Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount and two dozen other members of the 1974 Super Bowl championship team on hand, Bishop had his first two career interceptions, the first changing the momentum of the game.

The Jets held a 15-6 lead late in the first half when Bishop intercepted Rodgers near midfield. The Steelers scored a touchdown with 27 seconds in the half. After halftime, they scored on all four of their possessions to take command of the game. The Jets and Rodgers, meantime, were shut out in the second half.

“He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback,” Bishop said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy. To get not one but two off him is crazy.”

Wilson started off by completing just two of his first eight attempts and presided over three consecutive three-and-outs.

“I kept telling coach, ‘I’m going to get hot here,’” Wilson said.

The biggest beneficiary of the quarterback switch was Pickens, who scored his first touchdown of the season and totaled 111 yards on five catches.

Bishop’s first interception set up Wilson’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Pickens that pulled the Steelers within 15-13.

“It just was a bad throw,” Rodgers said. “I should have just dumped that. That play for whatever reason just changed the entire energy, changed the game.”

The Steelers took a 16-15 lead midway through the third quarter on Chris Boswell’s third field goal, a 21-yarder.

Pickens made a spectacular catch to get the drive going, hauling in a pass that bounced off cornerback Isaiah Oliver’s helmet for a 37-yard gain. Pat Freiermuth added a 21-yard catch on the drive.

Just 27 seconds later, Bishop’s second interception and 41-yard return put the Steelers on the doorstep. Rodgers’ pass hit Garrett Wilson in the chest and bounced in the air. Bishop came down with the ball and wasn’t tackled until he was brought down a yard short of the end zone.

Wilson bulled in on the next play, hiking the Steelers’ advantage to 23-15.

“It’s a long game so you can’t (panic),” wide receiver Calvin Austin said. “The game may start out slow, the game may start out fast. Regardless, it’s going to be four quarters. We knew eventually once we got it going, it was all going to flow together.”

Wilson didn’t sense the crowd was beginning to turn on him in the first half.

“We are in a tremendous situation where we are,” he said. “There’s a lot of outside noise that makes it seem like it’s a negative thing and there is an internal rivalry. It’s not. We just want to win. That’s what we are focusing on.”

The Jets’ best chance to stop the Steelers’ run came when Greg Zuerlein attempted a 35-yard field goal. Dean Lowry blocked it, and the Steelers turned this gift into another seven points. Wilson led the offense on a 75-yard drive in 11 plays, ending it with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson with 12:09 to play.

The defense rose to the occasion on the next series. Keeanu Benton batted down Rodgers’ pass on fourth-and-5 at the Steelers’ 25. It was the fourth time the Steelers swatted away a Rodgers’ attempt.

That enabled the Steelers to essentially run out the clock. Wilson and Austin hooked up for a 36-yard completion. After Wilson converted a fourth-and-1 from the Jets’ 19, the Steelers tacked another touchdown with 0:26 left on Najee Harris’ 10-yard run.

Harris finished with 102 yards rushing on 21 carries. He saved his best for the second half when he rushed for 75 yards to reach triple digits for the second game in a row.

Harris was confident Wilson would overcome his slow start, too.

“I knew when things were shaky in the first coupe drives, I knew he’d be calm and collected and pull it together,” he said. “That’s the leader he is.”