At quarterback, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a stronger spot now than they were a year ago. More talent, more production, more upside. But the cost of the big plays Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are capable of providing comes with negatives. For Dan Orlovsky, the Steelers’ best choice is the quarterback who can cut down on those mistakes.
In a recent discussion between Orlovsky and the ESPN Get Up panel, he argued Wilson and Fields must make smarter choices to earn the coaches’ trust.
“I’m fans of both of them,” Orlovsky said. “Who’s gonna take the less ridiculous sacks? In the last two seasons, Russell Wilson has taken 100 sacks. Justin Fields has taken 99. No other quarterback has taken more than 80. So who can get that out of their game just a little bit?”
Wilson was sacked 55 times in 2022 before being dropped 45 in 2023, an “improved” figure but only in part because he was benched late in the year. Fields’ numbers are nearly identical, tying Wilson for a league-high 55 sacks in 2022 before dropping that number to 44 in 2023, also due in part because of playing an incomplete season. He missed four games due to injury.
Building up a stout offensive line is one component to reducing those numbers. But plenty of those sacks were unforced errors because of the quarterback. Wilson has a tendency to spin and bail out, a frustrating trait Kenny Pickett displayed last season. Fields gets far too much depth on his drop and tends to drift backwards, making life impossible on his offensive tackles.
Orlovsky’s concerns go beyond just sacks.
“Which one of these two guys gets rid of the negative plays? Negative plays are sacks, they’re fumbles, and they’re interceptions,” he said. “Here’s another one: Justin Fields, in the last two seasons, has 145 negative plays. Russell Wilson has 135. No other quarterback in the NFL has 115. So you’re intrigued, you’re encouraged, but which one of these guys gets rid of their fatal flaws of their games more consistently?”
It’ll offer a stark contrast to how the Steelers have operated the past two years. Their goal at quarterback was two-fold. Play it safe and play it smart. Protect the football, don’t make the negative play that turns the ride against the Steelers. Pickett did that job well with the NFL’s second-lowest interception percentage last season, only trailing Houston’s C.J. Stroud. Of course, Pickett also had the league’s lowest touchdown percentage, too, cancelling out that ball security. Wilson and Fields could go the other way. More big plays positive and negative.
Of the two, Wilson has shown better decision-making and fewer mistakes, only tossing eight picks in 2023. It’s why he’s set up to be the starter while Fields sits, learns, and rounds out the edges in his game.
