The Pittsburgh Steelers trailed the Los Angeles Chargers 10-7 at halftime on Sunday. Then the defense locked the Chargers down and QB Justin Fields guided the Steelers to two fourth-quarter scoring drives. That included a 55-yard touchdown pass to WR Calvin Austin III. The battle of the undefeated ended with the Steelers standing tall at 3-0.
And another quality performance by Fields might mean he’s the one standing tall atop the quarterback depth chart for the foreseeable future. The assumption was that Fields was simply starting because of QB Russell Wilson’s injury. But with three wins to start the season and improving performances, Fields might not come off the field even when Wilson is fully healthy.
“You’re starting to see Justin Fields put some things together on this offense that, A, shut the door on Russell Wilson coming back as the starter unless there’s some sort of injury to Justin Fields right now,” Mike Golic Jr. said on Monday’s episode of GoJo and Golic. “But B, also start to show us some hints of what we all thought might be possible for a young, very talented player maybe getting in better circumstances than what we saw for him in Chicago.”
“The Steelers kinda the story of the early portion of this season. Especially if this is going to be the version of Justin Fields that we get…
You’re starting to see Justin Fields put some things together on this offense that shut the door on Russell Wilson coming back as the… pic.twitter.com/fK3KKT96BG
— GoJo and Golic (@GoJoandGolic) September 23, 2024
This may not have been what the Steelers pictured going into training camp, but here we are. Wilson entered training camp in “pole position.” But he sustained a calf injury during conditioning testing before the first practice of camp. That opened the door for Fields to get many more reps than expected. He showed improvement throughout camp, making strides in his accuracy and footwork. Then the Steelers named Wilson the starter for Week 1, but he aggravated his calf injury.
And now Fields has shown improvement through three games again. Despite turning the ball over for the first time all season, Fields had his best game with the Steelers in their home opener. He completed 25 of his 32 attempts for 245 yards and a touchdown. That’s a completion percentage of 78.1 along with 7.7 yards per attempt. Both are season highs. He didn’t run much, but he did score on a five-yard run in the first half.
Fields led the Steelers to 20 points versus the Chargers, the team with the best scoring defense in the league prior to Sunday. The talk was that the Steelers had to convert drives into touchdowns going into Sunday’s game. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was confident that more points would come, and Fields delivered on that confidence. He faced his stiffest test yet as the Steelers’ starter and played his best game yet.
In Golic’s mind, Fields’ performance on Sunday solidified his claim to the starting spot going forward. If Fields can continue to improve, there is no reason he shouldn’t be the starter for the foreseeable future. And that’s exactly what Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora thinks as well.
Russell Wilson, for all the things he’s done in his career which includes winning a Super Bowl, has not proven anything in Pittsburgh. He’s 35 years old and suffered two calf injuries. Since the two quarterbacks have joined the Steelers, one has shown both growth and promise. That’s why the Steelers should stick with Fields. As Golic said, the potential has been there all along. If Fields continues to play at this level or improve, he might be the starter beyond just 2024.
