Justin Fields completed five passes on six attempts during his Pittsburgh Steelers debut, but he wanted that sixth. He believes that he should have had it, and I think most would agree that he is right. Officials ruled one pass attempt to Van Jefferson incomplete, but he seemed to be in-bounds. The Steelers did not challenge the ruling, making the call of incomplete official.
“I thought he was in-bounds, I’m not gonna lie”, Fields said after the game about the play, via the team’s YouTube Channel. “I think Van was in, yeah.
The throw in question came at 2:21 in the first quarter, the Steelers facing 2nd and 6. From the Texans’ 36-yard line, Fields threw to Jefferson 12 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, seemingly connecting on an out-breaking route at the right sideline. Both sideline officials immediately waved it off as incomplete, but you can decide for yourself.
Mike Tomlin did seem to give the play a good look, but ultimately turned down the opportunity to challenge. Unfortunately, Justin Fields ended up taking a sack on third down, pushing them out of field goal range. Had the Steelers challenged and won, they would have had first down at about the 24-yard line.
That was Fields’ final pass attempt of the game, beginning that drive with 10- and 20-yard connections to George Pickens and Jefferson, respectively. The running game was also working on that drive, but the incomplete pass stalled them. Tomlin pulled Fields from the game after that, ending his Steelers debut on a sour note.
No doubt that plays some part in Justin Fields’ feelings about that missed connection, or at least its intensity. If he has that completion to Jefferson, the offense is knocking on the red zone. Perhaps they find the end zone and tie the game.
Instead, Fields handed his backup, Kyle Allen, a deficit, which he also squandered. In truth, Allen has a much bigger miss to harp on, overthrowing a wide-open Calvin Austin III in the end zone. Making matters worse, that was a fourth-down play, resulting in no points at all.
One thing we can say is that Van Jefferson had a quality debut, helping solidify himself as the second receiver. He finished the game with just that one catch for 20 yards, but really, should have had a second. He had already been turning things up in practice, showing a quality connection with Justin Fields.
Starting next week, he will have to ramp up his connection with Russell Wilson, as well. While Fields has taken advantage of these reps, Wilson is still the favorite to start the season under center. As of now, Jefferson is in position to be out there with the starting offense, so they will need that. Of course, Jefferson took every opportunity this offseason to work out with Wilson, so there’s that.
