Though it came in a loss, one in which he made a couple of mistakes that ultimately cost his team, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields’ performance on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts was pretty remarkable.
He threw for 312 yards and a touchdown and added 55 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries, becoming the first Steelers quarterback to ever do that in a game.
It’s disappointing that the historic effort came up just short in a loss, but for former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter Monday morning, Fields has to be the starter for the rest of the season. If he is, the Steelers will be meaningful in December.
“Start Justin Fields. Start Justin Fields. I mean, Justin Fields has only gotten better every single week. …They were only in the game yesterday because, in many ways, of the play of Justin Fields. In no way was he part of the problem yesterday,” Orlovsky said of Fields, according to video via ESPN. “Russell Wilson’s healthy, all due respect. Justin Fields has been given the opportunity. He’s done nothing but take advantage of it.
“And anything that people wanted to say about him as far as, you can’t do this, or Justin can’t do this. He’s disproven it. He’s their starting quarterback, and this team will be meaningful in December because of his play.”
Through the first four weeks of the season, Fields has played good football. That’s a fact. He’s largely avoided the turnovers, not taken the bad sacks as often as he did in Chicago, and has made some big plays with his arm down the field.
On Sunday, he got off to a slow start against the Colts and took some bad sacks in the first half, including late in the first half that nearly cost the Steelers a field goal.
Then, he had a brutal fumble that did cost the Steelers a shot at at least a field goal, that coming in the third quarter. He should have thrown the ball quickly on a hot route, but instead tried to make a play with his legs and ended up losing 20 yards and fumbling the football away.
Despite that costly mistake, Fields bounced back in a big way and led the Steelers to three straight touchdowns, something the Steelers hadn’t done since 2021 against Minnesota on the road when Ben Roethlisberger was the quarterback.
For Orlovsky, Fields has nothing left to answer. He should be the starter, period.
“Indisputable. He’s the indisputable starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was fantastic yesterday,” Orlovsky said. “Timing, seeing windows in the zone areas, using his legs down in the red zone. I mean, if not for a George Pickens fumble, maybe in the red zone, he’s gonna lead a massive comeback and get a huge road win. Indisputable. Justin Fields is the starting quarterback for the Steelers. I get tired of saying it every week.
“I’m gonna continue to say it every week. He played a big-time game yesterday.”
Fields stepped up in a major way. There is no denying that.
One of the big questions regarding not only Fields but the Steelers’ offense under Arthur Smith was if they could be a quick-strike team and mount comebacks if they fell behind. Though they ultimately came up short on Sunday, Fields and the Steelers’ offense answered that question, making it a 3-point game and then getting the ball for one final drive with a chance to tie or take the lead.
That’s real progress, and that’s something Fields has shown often early in the season.
