Jim Harbaugh has a unique perspective after taking a nine-year break from the NFL to go coach one of the premier college programs in the country at the University of Michigan. A lot of the top players he is now coaching against in the NFL are players he game planned and schemed against in college. One of those players is former Ohio State QB Justin Fields.
With it looking likely that Fields starts his third-straight game for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers will be tasked with stopping him. Harbaugh holds a pretty high opinion of Fields.
“He’s an outstanding quarterback,” Harbaugh said during his Wednesday press conference posted on the Chargers’ YouTube page. “He’s good throwing the ball, good extending plays. He is a top-flight quarterback.”
Justin Fields only played against Michigan once during his time at Ohio State. The two teams play every season, but their 2020 game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fields lit up the Wolverines the previous season in a 56-27 win for the Buckeyes. He only completed 14 of his 25 attempts, but that was good for 302 passing yards and four touchdowns. He also chipped in six rushing attempts for another 25 yards.
That was before Michigan turned into the powerhouse over the last few seasons that culminated in a national championship last year.
Regardless, Fields’ performance in that game seems to have stuck with Harbaugh. Now he is tasked with limiting his impact on the game this Sunday between the two undefeated teams.
Through two games, Fields’ stats with the Steelers aren’t flashy. He has 30 completions on 43 pass attempts for 273 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. His passing stats are remarkably similar to Chargers QB Justin Herbert with 31 completions on 46 attempts for 274 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
To be fair, Fields has had 107 passing yards and a touchdown wiped out by penalties. The penalty issues have limited the offense’s ability to extend drives, which would create more opportunities for Fields to gain yards and score touchdowns. In other words, his play has been better than the box score indicates.
Harbaugh’s description of Fields is perhaps a bit charitable, but you can’t blame him after what Fields accomplished against his Michigan team in college. There are also a handful of plays from this season, including a couple that got negated by penalty, that show Fields’ lofty potential as a quarterback.
