Two weeks in a row, over 30 points scored, forced turnovers, a huge special teams game and a relatively stress-free fourth quarter.

It was a huge development for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who earned a 37-15 win over the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football at Acrisure Stadium in Russell Wilson’s first start as a Steeler.

Wilson threw two touchdown passes and scored on a quarterback sneak, and the Steelers put up 37 points and really took it to the Jets’ defense.

Najee Harris had another 100-yard rushing game, George Pickens made big plays in the passing game, a depleted offensive line took over the game in the second half and the defense kept making crucial plays.

This is Pittsburgh Steelers football, baby.

5-2. Everything that matters.

Let’s get to some notes.

QB – A-

A great performance from Russell Wilson in his Steelers debut. Wilson completed 16 of 29 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. He pushed the ball around the field, made some play-off plays, and generally handled the football smartly and confidently.

Wilson was also only sacked once, which was impressive. Although he was often under pressure, especially early in the game, he found ways to avoid negative plays and overall keep the offense on schedule. There were some hiccups early in the game that led to boos and boos for Justin Fields, but toward the end of the first half, Wilson and the Steelers hustled and that got him into a rhythm.

He drove off from there.

Wilson had some underthrown deep balls that were concerning, but he got some help from his pass catchers. He appeared confident and controlled and really gave the offensive momentum. A really strong performance for Wilson that he must now build on.

RB-B+

Another week, another 100-yard performance from Najee Harris, who is just starting to take off. The Alabama product rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries and finished with 4.9 yards per carry for 34 yards.

Harris ran hard, breaking off some big runs and wearing down the Jets late into the night. He capped his great performance with a 10-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, taking him over 100 yards and putting an exclamation point on the night.

He’s on the rise behind an offensive line that’s facing a lot of questions right now.

Jaylen Warren also had some moments against the Jets. He finished the game with 37 yards on 12 carries, an average of just 3.7 yards. However, he looked healthy and had his usual rash, which was great to see. He added two receptions for 15 yards, including a key 11-yard catch and a run on third down in the third quarter to move the chains.

Warren was also great in pass defense, catching a blitz that allowed Wilson to throw a 21-yard pass to Pat Freiermuth for another Steelers score.

WR – A-

After a quiet few weeks in which he struggled to catch the football cleanly, George Pickens had another major breakthrough, and it coincided with a quarterback change.

With Wilson under center, Pickens finished the game with five receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. He added a 29-yard pass interference penalty in the win over the Jets. Pickens made some acrobatic catches on the field, including a juggling catch against Sauce Gardner that caused a big stir for the Steelers.

He looked as good as he has all season and was beaming after the game. Hopefully there will be more of them.

It wasn’t just Pickens making plays in the passing game.

Calvin Austin III had a 36-yard catch-and-run in which he was completely clear of the play, which gave the Steelers a big upset. However, he suffered a crucial drop in the first quarter that really threw the Steelers out of rhythm.

Van Jefferson also had two catches for 15 yards in the win, including a game-tying touchdown. Wilson helped increase the wide receiver roster, which many expected with the QB change. A good sign.

TE-B

Freiermuth made another impact in the Steelers’ passing game, scoring a 30-yard catch-and-run in which he missed a defender and then got a great block from George Pickens that catapulted him to the sideline. He later made a juggling one-handed catch for 21 yards that gave the Steelers the win.

Freiermuth also made an impact as a blocker, helping Najee Harris on his 34-yard run, continuing a strong season in that regard for the veteran tight end.

It’s great to see Darnell Washington getting more work in the passing game. Washington had four receptions for 36 yards and used the short routes in the flat on rollouts for easy completions by Wilson. Washington needs to see more of this in the future.

OL – B+

Things didn’t look very promising at first. The running game had some issues and Wilson was under quite a bit of pressure even as the Steelers tried to move the pocket to keep the Jets’ pass rush off balance.

It didn’t work.

But towards the end of the first half, the Steelers hustled after Beanie Bishop Jr.’s first interception and the offensive line really got into the game.

The unit started the second half with the running game getting rolling, and Wilson was highly capable of making throws down the field.

Overall just a really solid performance from a group that was under fire early in the game. But as has been the case all season with the changes at the top, the line got going in the second half and kept rolling, securing the victory.

DL – B+

Aside from a 13-yard touchdown run in the first half, the Steelers’ run defense has been really good, and that starts with the defensive line.

The group really controlled the line of scrimmage, especially against the run, forcing the Jets to become one-dimensional quicker than they wanted.

Larry Ogunjobi started things off with a bang by sacking Aaron Rodgers to force a punt. But then he got a 15-yard penalty on the next drive for apparently tackling Breece Hall too hard. It was a ridiculous penalty that you can’t blame Ogunjobi for.

Keeanu Benton also had a strong game. He hit two passes at the line of scrimmage, including one on a 4th-and-short to force a turnover on downs. Cameron Heyward also had a pass breakup that night. The two managed four tackles together and were really unblockable for a long time.

LB – B-

Holding the Jets to just 15 points is pretty impressive, but there were some concerns about performance, particularly in tackling.

This started at the linebacker level, as Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson struggled in the tackling department. Although Wilson had 10 tackles to lead the Steelers, he was sloppy in space and missed a few tackles that resulted in splashes. The same goes for Queen, who finished with just four tackles.

Elandon Roberts did not record a tackle on the night. Worse, he beat Queen and teammate TJ Watt on Breece Hall’s big catch-and-run that was a microcosm of how problems were dealt with that night.

On the outside, Alex Highsmith had a very good game in his return to the lineup. He had four tackles and two quarterback hits and racked up a number of pressures as he gave Jets LT Tyron Smith fits all night.

TJ Watt had a pass batted at the line of scrimmage but wasn’t as effective rushing the passer as the Jets doubled him and chipped him to take it away. Watt only had one tackle on the night but was credited with two quarterback hits.

DB – B+

Aside from some ugly tackling attempts in space by Donte Jackson and Minkah Fitzpatrick, I thought the secondary was good against a crowded Jets receiver room.

Beanie Bishop Jr. had two interceptions against Rodgers, including an impressive one-handed interception over the middle late in the first half that completely changed the game. He still allowed some plays out of the slot, but two interceptions against a future Hall of Famer like Rodgers stands out. For good measure, he added a tackle for loss.

Joey Porter Jr. was locked in coverage all night. He also had one tackle for loss in the game and was rarely challenged in coverage. Donte Jackson had a rough night. He had a bad miss in space on Hall’s long catch-and-run and was shaky early in coverage before exiting with a shoulder injury.

James Pierre replaced him and missed a few completions, but was able to hold his own with five total tackles.

DeShon Elliott was once again outstanding for the Steelers. He finished the game with six tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. He was ever-present, and he brought the physicality, flying downhill in the third quarter and making a big tackle short of sticks, giving the Jets a turnover on downs.

Fitzpatrick had a rough mis-tackle in space, but was generally calm as usual, finishing with four tackles while keeping the passing game under control. I would like to see him force a turnover here soon.

Special Teams – A

Chris Boswell was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals on the night, making them from 46, 29 and 21 yards, and was 4-for-4 on extra points. He is probably the best kicker in football and showed it again on Sunday evening.

Corliss Waitman was great, hitting four times for 184 yards, 46 yards per punt, and hitting three of his four punts inside the 20-yard line. He also had a long of 55 yards on the night and did not allow a punt return.

The special teams grade is so high because of a blocked field goal by Dean Lowry that really gave the Steelers momentum. The Steelers narrowly missed a blocked punt early in the game and then blocked an extra point in the second quarter before an incorrect leverage call by Minkah Fitzpatrick negated it, leading to a 2-pointer by the Jets.

But special teams wouldn’t be denied as Lowry got his hands on the field goal and blocked it, keeping the Jets off the field. They wouldn’t even come close to scoring.

Danny Smith forever.