RUSSELL WILSON | PHOTO BY JARED WICKERHAM/PITTSBURGH STEELERS

As they ready for the Ravens this Sunday and the Browns next Thursday, Steeler Nation can be forgiven for feeling suddenly giddy — and more than a bit quizzical over what’s possible for the team and the season now that Russell Wilson has taken over at quarterback.

Seems like as good a time as any to reflect back upon how utterly hopeless the Steelers’ prospects were approximately one year ago.

Running back Najee Harris conveyed the prevailing sentiment then with equal parts clarity and consternation following the Steelers’ 13-10 loss on Nov. 19, 2023 in Cleveland.

It had been another one of those games, the latest in a two-season rut of dreadful affairs. The Kenny Pickett-led offense generated 249 total net yards and scored one touchdown. Pickett, once the yardage from three sacks had been subtracted, threw for 77 net passing yards. Harris, running into another defensive wall paying little or no respect to the threat of the pass, managed 35 rushing yards on 12 attempts. And the Steelers possessed the ball for all of 28:33 while losing to rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a former fifth-round draft choice who was making his second NFL start.

Harris sat on a stool in the visitor’s locker room, hunched over and visibly frustrated. He then answered the same type of questions that had been asked too many times after too many disheartening games.

“Is it fixable?” Harris repeated, looking up to look a questioner in the eye. “Yeah, but … Are we gonna fix it? [Expletive].”

The expletive attached to the question betrayed his skepticism, if not his utter disbelief. It was unclear at the time whether Harris was implying the quarterback(s) were the problem that needed to be fixed, or the offensive coordinator, or both.

Who knew the Steelers were about to take him at his word?

The following Tuesday, offensive coordinator Matt Canada was relieved of his duties.

When the offseason eventually commenced, the Steelers went about severing ties with all three of their QBs, severing ties with Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.

They also traded veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Then they aggressively attacked free agency and targeted players in the draft who would start sooner rather than later.

It all added up, among other additions, to three new quarterbacks (Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen), a new offensive coordinator (Arthur Smith), and new starters at center (Zach Frazier), right guard (Mason McCormick), inside linebacker (Patrick Queen), strong safety (DeShon Elliott), cornerback (Donte Jackson), nickel cornerback (Beanie Bishop) and punter (Cameron Johnston, and eventually Corliss Waitman).

And for good measure, the Steelers acquired reinforcements that were desperately needed at wide receiver (Mike Williams) and outside linebacker (Preston Smith) at the NFL’s trade deadline.

Now, suddenly, the Steelers in general and Wilson in particular have become the darlings of the national media. The same talking heads who were ridiculing head coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to replace Fields with Wilson when the Steelers had a 4-2 record are now lauding Tomlin for his deft and aggressive handling of the situation (as if replacing the backup with the starter once the starter was healthy required some sort of fortitude or finesse), and trumpeting the Steelers, 7-2 after last Sunday’s statement-making victory over the Commanders, as an emerging contender.

They can take giant steps toward conforming the latter against Baltimore and Cleveland. And at this juncture, there’s little reason not to like their chances.

“Are we gonna fix it?” It appears, after further review, that they’re well on their way to doing so after all.

They’ve come so far so fast that’s probably hard to fathom.

Maybe even for Najee Harris, among others.