The Pittsburgh Steelers sit in a unique position with two quarterbacks on the roster who were starters last season elsewhere around the league. To a certain extent, they have similar skill sets. Both quarterbacks like to extend plays with their legs, and both can push the ball down the field. But Justin Fields, at 25 years old, provides much more of a threat on the ground for designed quarterback run plays.
Russell Wilson probably provides a higher floor of play, but Fields could really help the Steelers lean into their identity as a run-first offense, and his unique athleticism could transform the offense as a whole. He holds the second-best single-season rushing total for a quarterback in league history from back in 2022 when he rushed for 1,143 yards. That is second only to Lamar Jackson’s 1,206 rushing yards in 2019.
The AFC North features multiple teams that play a similar brand of football. Strong defensive play and a strong running game define the Steelers, Ravens, and Cleveland Browns. If the Steelers start Fields, they could end up becoming a different version of their biggest rival.
“Russell Wilson’s your starting quarterback, you’re gonna win 10 games, you’re gonna be good. Then you have to decide six or eight months from now, am I gonna play Russell Wilson, at 36 years old, a gajillion bucks. For what? Good? Or do I want to become the Baltimore Ravens,” NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said of the quarterback decision ahead of the Steelers via ESPN’s Get Up this morning. “I mean that’s the question the Steelers have to ask themselves. Are they content with becoming the Baltimore Ravens of 2020, 2021 with Lamar Jackson?”
Jackson has developed into a fine passer, but early in his career he was viewed in a similar light to how Fields is viewed now. There were questions if he was just an athlete who could run the ball with inconsistencies as a passer. But the Ravens still rolled with him and had a lot of success doing so.
In 2019 and 2020, when Jackson was still figuring things out as a passer, the Ravens went a combined 24-6 with him in the regular season. They only won one playoff game during that time, but it was pretty clear that the offensive identity they chose was viable to be a highly competitive football team.
The Steelers have a lot of similarities to those teams. The defense should be at or near the top of the league, the run game has two capable running backs, and the offensive line overhaul should further accentuate their success on the ground. With Russell Wilson, the Steelers could be a top-five rushing team. But with Fields, they have the potential to be the No. 1 rushing team in the league.
Over the last few seasons, the Steelers have needed to play a lot of catch up to win games. They have spent a lot of time trailing opponents instead of trying to protect leads. Can you imagine what the defense would look like if it was consistently given leads? A strong rushing attack would also help win the time of possession battle that the Steelers have struggled with at times over the last few seasons.
Damien Woody echoed a similar sentiment to Orlovsky.
“Could you imagine if you unleash Justin Fields in that offense, okay, what this Pittsburgh team could be like?” Woody said. “They could be something like Baltimore. And guess what? You can go a long way playing that style of football.”
The only issue is, the Ravens now have years of experience running that style of offense with a mobile quarterback. I don’t think many would argue which of the two is the better quarterback between Jackson and Fields. Do you really want to emulate the Ravens when it would just be a worse version of their offense?
It still seems very likely that Wilson will be the starting quarterback to open the year. But Fields is a decade younger and provides more long-term upside. In the end, the Steelers do have Fields as a wild card in their back pocket in case they need a spark at some point in the 2024 season. If they do that, they could end up looking eerily similar to their biggest rival on offense.
