The Pittsburgh Steelers’ second preseason game was ugly all around for the offense. Russell Wilson started the game and came away empty on five drives, managing just 34 yards of total offense. Justin Fields ended up playing the final five drives and generated the Steelers’ only three points of the game on a field-goal drive, but he is also a player who is competing for a starting job. Playing mostly against backups deep in the preseason game, completing 11-of-17 pass attempts for 92 yards isn’t good enough.
Former NFL QB J.T. O’Sullivan breaks down quarterback play on his The QB School YouTube channel and did nearly an hour deep dive into Fields’ play in the second preseason game. He did not come away impressed, to say the least.
“Overall, it’s rough,” O’Sullivan said of Fields’ play. “I think it’s rough in general right now, offensively Pittsburgh-wise. But man, Justin, for whatever reason just continues to really struggle to put it together and really the combination of timing, rhythm, feel, playing within the structure of a play seems like it’s almost completely regressed. And then even when things are open down the field, we’re missing touchdown opportunities, and it’s just really, really frustrating.
“I feel bad for everyone involved, but there’s just no way you can look at the film and think that that is gonna be good enough to play consistently in the league.”
To be fair, Mike Tomlin said at halftime that they wanted to get Fields on the run more in the second half to test his skill set in that area. We don’t know exactly what he was being advised to do, but that doesn’t excuse the miscues in the passing game. On paper, a 64.7 completion percentage isn’t awful, but he left a lot of meat on the bone and could have gained a lot more yards through the air if he had seen the field well and played on schedule.
O’Sullivan offered a little praise throughout, but it was a lot of the things that everybody already knew about Fields. He has the arm talent to push the ball down the field and the athleticism to extend plays and create yards on the ground. It is everything else that needs work, and the second preseason game did not suggest a big leap from his 2023 play with the Chicago Bears.
Throughout the video, O’Sullivan breaks down nearly every snap of Fields’ game. His assertions are well-supported by tape analysis. I encourage you all to click through at least a few of his play breakdowns, if not the entire 52-minute video.
“If I didn’t know who this was and I didn’t know how dynamic of an athlete and runner he’s proven to be in the league, this is the type of film that you don’t get to stick around from,” O’Sullivan said. “There’s no way, you can’t make sense of it.”
While Fields was able to extend plays with his legs, O’Sullivan noted several examples where Fields wouldn’t have needed to extend the play had he gone through his reads correctly and pulled the trigger on a throw. His instincts are to use his athleticism, but too often that is at the expense of the design of a play.
Again, there is no positive way to paint a three-point performance against backups in the preseason. Yeah, Fields was also playing with backups on offense, but he should be able to elevate those around him and stand out in a big way if he hopes to be a starting quarterback for the Steelers.
