For years, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have any question marks at quarterback because they had Ben Roethlisberger. Since he retired, though, they’ve had a tough time filling that void. Finding a new franchise quarterback isn’t easy, but the Steelers have struggled even to field an average signal-caller. However, Justin Fields looks like he might change that. Although they lost to the Indianapolis Colts, Roethlisberger does not believe Fields’ starting spot should be in question.
“Justin [Fields] did not play bad,” Roethlisberger said Monday on his podcast, Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger. “[Fields] did not lose his starting job. He had a bad play, and he owned up to it. I’m talking about the long sack and the fumble. He said he was hot, so that guy comes unblocked. You gotta get the ball out of your hands.
“No one’s blocking him, so you gotta throw it to a hot receiver. Whether he was looking the other direction, didn’t see it hot at the time, didn’t know it, [Fields] didn’t get the ball out of his hand.”
That’s a good assessment of Fields’ day against the Colts. He finished with a good stat line, completing 22 of his 34 passes for 312 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns. He was the reason that the Steelers had any chance at all to come back. His play in the second half was amazing, but unfortunately, it just came too late.
Like Roethlisberger said, though, Fields made one huge error that really hurt the Steelers. That strip sack came with a little less than seven minutes left in the third quarter. The Steelers were only down 14, and they were in field goal range. It was third-and-10, and an unblocked rusher forced Fields to run 20 yards backward.
Fields arguably should’ve been ruled down, which would have negated the fumble, but even still, he played the Steelers out of field goal range. At that point, any points would’ve been huge for their offense. Luckily, the Steelers’ defense held strong on the Colts’ following drive, forcing them to attempt a field goal they would miss.
Ultimately, it didn’t kill the Steelers’ chances of a comeback, but it didn’t help matters at all. Those three points ended up mattering a lot. However, what Fields did next was extremely impressive. He led the Steelers to three straight touchdowns after that, not letting that mistake affect him. He didn’t have a poor attitude. He showed great leadership and perseverance.
It’s unclear if Russell Wilson will be healthy this week, but if he is, it doesn’t sound like Roethlisberger would start him. Fields still helped the Steelers win three games, and he wasn’t the reason they lost against the Colts. He wasn’t perfect, but the entire offense had a rough day in Week 4. Hopefully, if he starts in Week 5, he proves Roethlisberger’s confidence right.
