Justin Fields played his best game of the season in Week 3 leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He passed for 245 yards, one touchdown, and one interception with an exceptional 78.1 completion percentage, adding a touchdown on the ground as well. More significant than the box score, Fields passed the eye test with flying colors.
He went through his progressions in the pocket and threw several darts in the intermediate range, including the game-sealing 55-yard touchdown to Calvin Austin III. Fields is now 3-0 with the Steelers, raising serious questions as to whether he should remain the starter after Russell Wilson comes back from his calf injury.
Former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch joined Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show and discussed the current state of the Justin Fields-Russell Wilson dynamic.
“Yeah [Justin] has stepped up, but there’s a dilemma. And that dilemma is all offseason before you got to training camp this was Russell Wilson’s team, so you’re building a rapport with him,” Batch said. “You get to training camp of course that shifts and now Justin’s taken over, you start to see some of the leadership traits he has. Yet it’s not his team. And it’s not his team because this team has voted Russell Wilson captain. Sometimes you have to learn to lead from behind because you have to take the mannerisms of the starting quarterback, blend it with what you’re doing, but then ultimately present it back on a platter and say, ‘Thank you, here you go, we’re now 3-0′ if for whatever reason this team is handed back to Russell Wilson this week.”
Batch knows what it means to succeed as a backup quarterback. He backed up Ben Roethlisberger for the majority of his career, filling in for nine starts over the course of 10 seasons with an impressive 6-3 record. But his situation was different than Justin Fields’ in just about every way. It was undoubtedly Ben Roethlisberger’s team. The Justin Fields and Russell Wilson situation is much more complicated. Both players joined the Steelers this offseason, and both players have spent their careers as starting quarterbacks. Mike Tomlin declared Russell Wilson the starter over the summer, but said it was still very much a competition.
Tomlin has danced around questions regarding Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, saying “hypotheticals are a waste of time” and that he won’t speculate on who will be the future starter when one quarterback is injured. Wilson claims that he’s getting closer to returning, but with Fields guiding the team to a 3-0 record, he may not return to a starting job.
So which quarterback is the leader in the locker room? Is the team backing Justin Fields now that he’s led them to a 3-0 record while playing good football? Or do they still view this as Russell Wilson’s team? It’s unclear. Numerous players praised Russell Wilson’s leadership this offseason and during the preseason, citing his control of the huddle and his intangible leadership traits. Even Fields himself discussed how Wilson mentored him this offseason.
Until Tomlin is forced to name Fields the starter over a healthy Russell Wilson, the leadership situation will be complicated. Fields hasn’t developed all the necessary traits of a leader because he’s only been in the NFL since 2021, and his play has been inconsistent. He’ll need to hone his leadership style if he’s going to take the Steelers to the playoffs this season, and possibly become the quarterback of the future for the Black and Gold.
