Russell Wilson went full Kenny Pickett when the Steelers needed him most

It took 11 weeks, but the Pittsburgh Steelers finally had their first game against an AFC North division opponent. The Baltimore Ravens were coming to town with a spot in first place in the division on the line.

It's safe to say that the Steelers defense showed up. Not only did they hold the dynamic Ravens offense to just 16 points all game, but they forced the first Derrick Henry fumble in years on the first drive of the game, and held MVP favorite Lamar Jackson to 48.4 percent passing.

Their incredible defensive effort paired with six Chris Boswell field goals led the Steelers to an 18-16 win. The Steelers now have a 1.5-game lead over Baltimore for first place in the AFC North, and only trail the Kansas City Chiefs by 1.0 game for the No. 1 seed in the AFC thanks to their sparkling 8-2 record.

While getting the win is the No. 1 takeaway, it can't be ignored just how much this offense struggled. It felt as if Kenny Pickett was back under center in Pittsburgh, and the stats back it up. As ESPN's Seth Walder pointed out, Wilson had the lowest QBR game of all Week 11 quarterbacks. It was that bad.

Steelers got the win, but Russell Wilson played far from the upgrade Pittsburgh hoped he'd be

The Steelers signed Wilson this past offseason in large part to be an upgrade over Pickett. No, he wasn't the player he once was with the Seattle Seahawks, but they wanted to get away from having to rely on only Chris Boswell and an elite defense to win games against elite competition.

In his first three starts of the season, the Steelers offense looked better than we had become accustomed to. He had six touchdown passes compared to one interception in three wins and had developed great chemistry with George Pickens along the way.

Pickens had another good game on Sunday, but Wilson threw for just 205 yards, tossed an interception, and couldn't get the Steelers into the end zone a single time in this game. This was the most crucial game of the season thus far by far and Wilson had his worst showing in black and gold. The offense looked eerily similar to the low-scoring unit with Pickett under center. The game Pickett started against the Ravens last season saw Pittsburgh win 17-10.

What's most alarming about this performance from Wilson is that this Ravens defense, particularly in the secondary, appeared to be suspect at best. They might've entered this game with a chance to leapfrog Pittsburgh in the division, but they also had arguably the worst defense against the pass entering the game. Even after it, the Ravens have allowed 284.5 passing yards per game, the most in the NFL. Wilson barely managed to get over 200 yards.

Yes, the Steelers won, but how sustainable is it to win 18-16 against the AFC's elite, especially when the postseason rolls around? Do the Steelers really think they can hold the Ravens to 16 points again with how well they've played? Do the Steelers think they can hold Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes to under 20 points? They probably should've lost this game if Justin Tucker could make a field goal or if Lamar Jackson could convert in their key two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter.

Their defense is elite and can help limit dynamic offenses, but the Steelers won't go far by scoring just 18 points with a QB who has a 14.5 QBR. That exact fact is why the Steelers moved on from Pickett to begin with. Hopefully, Wilson can step up next time Pittsburgh faces elite competition.