On Monday, we broke down the best of new Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields. The highs of his game. The arm talent, throwing under pressure, and his escapability, makes life frustrating on defenses. But if it was all sunshine and roses in his game, the Steelers wouldn’t have gotten him for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick. His game is full of flaws, holes, and rough edges.
With that in mind, here are the worst aspects of Fields’ game, ones he must improve upon in order to become a consistent, starting quarterback.
Poor Pocket Presence/Feel
One of Fields’ worst traits is how uncomfortable he can look in the pocket. The only quarterback sacked more than him the last two years is Russell Wilson, added right before the Fields deal. While both will bail on clean pockets and spin out too much, a key difference is with Fields’ drops. He gets far too much depth than he should and will drift backwards at the top of his drop instead of hitching and climbing.
For an offensive tackle, you can’t protect that way. The deeper the drop, the less severe an angle the defender needs to take to reach the quarterback. If the tackle’s set and the quarterback’s drop aren’t in-sync, the tackle won’t be deep enough and will lose the edge through no fault of his own.
Couple that with Fields also bailing and leaving clean pockets, which again invites the EDGE rush and cuts down half the field, and you see some of that self-inflicted negativity.
Cut-ups of each. The aerial shots are examples of him drifting back in the pocket.
OUT-ROUTE MISSES
Fields’ accuracy overall is inconsistent, and he really struggles to throw the out route. He’s either later, doesn’t read it well, throws behind, or just wildly misses. It’s not a throw he’s comfortable or routine in making. A collection of issues on those throws.
BOUTS OF INACCURACY
On top of missing on out routes, Fields’ accuracy can crater. Hard to say what’s causing it technically but he will just miss more. All quarterbacks miss but Fields’ rate is high and it’s one reason why his completion rate is low. Since 2021, his 60.3 completion percentage is 38th of the 41 quarterbacks with at least 500 attempts, only ahead of Bryce Young, Sam Darnold, and Zach Wilson. It’s more than two points lower than Kenny Pickett’s.
And the numbers. The turnovers and negative plays are high. Since entering the league, his 135 sacks taken are the NFL’s most. His interception rate is 3.1 percent. Since 2021 of quarterbacks with at least 500 attempts, only Sam Howell’s 3.5 percent is worse. And his 38 fumbles are the most of any player since entering the league. Last year, the Steelers won because they didn’t turn the ball over and soon reduced negative plays. Fields is full of them.
That’s the good and the bad. A big arm, able to throw under pressure, dynamic plays, a big-time threat as a runner and scrambler who stresses defenses. But shoddy accuracy, poor pocket movement, and too many negative outcomes. The next time we get eyes on Fields will be at training camp in what will be one of the most interesting summers in decades.
