I grew up 60 miles from Pittsburgh. In every football season of my life, except for 1986 (I spent the semester in Oakland, California), I have lived within 100 miles of Three Rivers Stadium and then Heinz Field and then the place I will continue to call Heinz Field. As a kid, I was too stubborn to be a Steelers fan, but I have been surrounded by them my entire life.

So I have a pretty good idea of ​​what the Steelers are, and I currently believe that they (especially coach Mike Tomlin) are committed to starting the season with Russell Wilson at quarterback, even though fans would prefer Justin Fields.

Yes, Tomlin has always said that Wilson is in “pole position” for the job. But the perception remains that Fields can’t outrank Wilson, even though Wilson was injured for several weeks at the start of training camp and even though Justin Fields brought more momentum and excitement to the offense when the two faced off in the final preseason game.

Wilson, who played limited games on Saturday night, looked more like the Denver version of himself than the Seattle version, but if he hadn’t been able to get going because of the calf issues and his offensive line was overwhelmed, that might not have been a fair reflection of what he currently is.

Tomlin seems to have decided that the Broncos experience was an aberration. Why else would he not called Denver coach Sean Payton to talk about the good and the bad, the pros and cons of adding Wilson to the team?

Tomlin has had the advantage of being able to study Russell Wilson since he entered the league in 2012. There is a connection to Eastern Virginia that has influenced Tomlin in the past. And Tomlin can always switch to Fields later if Wilson doesn’t get it right.

Here’s another factor that could potentially help Wilson. Three of the first six games are against teams from the AFC West, where Wilson spent the last two seasons. And it starts with a return to Denver in Week 2. He’ll be especially motivated to beat the Broncos, and he’ll be more familiar with the Chargers in Week 3 and the Raiders in Week 6.

The fact that Wilson and the Steelers start with two road games gives him a chance to build some prestige without having to listen to the murmuring of hometown fans when he misses passes or gets swallowed up by pass rushers. He can play a full 60 minutes for two weeks and try to start the year 2-0. If that happens, the Yinzers will be a lot more forgiving in Week 3 against the Chargers.

The bigger challenges are two home games on Sunday nights in Week 5 (Cowboys) and Week 7 (Jets). With another prime-time game the following Monday against the Giants, that’s three standalone games in four weeks. The off period follows immediately after that. If Russ isn’t at his best for eight games, they can switch to Fields.

We’ll see what happens. But it feels like Tomlin wants to give Wilson the first chance to get back to who he was before playing for the Broncos. If Tomlin is right, Wilson could take the Steelers much further than Fields. And if Tomlin is wrong, there will still be time to give Fields a chance.