There was quite a bit of anticipation leading up to Saturday night’s preseason matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium, due mainly due Russell Wilson’s debut in the Black and Gold.
The veteran quarterback got the start and played five series, but in those five series the Steelers’ offense did next to nothing in the 9-3 loss. Wilson was under a great deal of duress and really didn’t have time and space to affect the game as the Steelers’ offensive line was a mess.
Post-game, Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin called Wilson’s debut an “incomplete study” due to the struggles to protect him, and the inability to establish any sort of rhythm.
For former Steelers defensive tackle Chris Hoke, who appeared on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call after the game, Wilson didn’t play bad, and he believes the starting QB job is still his to lose.
“I think it’s set. Russell Wilson, barring something drastic happening, is going to be the starter Week 1,” Hoke said on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “But if the offense looks like it did [Saturday] in those first five drives then I think you start talking about it.
“But right now it’s Russell Wilson’s job.”
Realistically, it probably should be Wilson’s job right now. He was brought in to be the starting quarterback who provides stability and leadership to a young offense. He’s certainly done that in his time in Pittsburgh so far.
The calf injury suffered right at the start of training camp opened the door for Fields to get consistent QB1 work. To his credit, he took advantage of it during training camp, but Wilson didn’t exactly do anything to lose his hold on the “pole position” under center, and Fields hasn’t done anything truly spectacular to grab it.
Despite the noted struggles of the offensive line, which really hindered the ability to even attempt to evaluate Wilson Saturday night, the debate regarding who the Steelers’ starting QB should be rages on after Fields performed well in the second half of the game and showed his ability to create things with his legs when the offense fell apart.
Hoke was happy to see Fields showed he could change the dynamic of the offense when it sputters due to his legs and ability to extend plays out of the pocket. He believes Fields continued to close the gap Saturday night, but it was still quite difficult to evaluate Wilson when things around him were well below the standard.
“I really don’t think [Wilson] played bad. He didn’t have an opportunity to sit in the pocket and have a clean pocket. He had people in his face the whole time,” Hoke said. “I do think that Justin Fields showed something today and continued to close that gap.
“Yes [Wilson’s] in that pole position, but Justin Fields showed he can change things up and put a defense on its heels if the offense sputters in the regular season.”
Fields showed glimpses of that, none more so than on the scramble and completion to wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, fighting out of a sack and rolling to his left to fire a strike along the sideline for a first down. Just the ability to stay upright and shake off the defender to avoid the sack was impressive.
Everything after that on the play was gravy.
That’s what Fields can provide. Wilson was able to do that earlier in his career, but times have changed. It’s a bit unfair to hold that against him right now though, considering there was no real way to evaluate him against the Bills on Saturday night.
We’ll see what the plan is for the preseason finale next Saturday against the Detroit Lions at quarterback, but right now, even with Fields narrowing the gap, Wilson appears to be QB1 for the Steelers entering the season.
That could all change in a hurry though.
