The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation is anything but settled. QB Russell Wilson was supposed to start Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons. Instead, his calf tightened up only days before the season opener. The Steelers held him out as a precaution which meant Justin Fields got the start.
Fields didn’t blow anyone away against his hometown Falcons. He only attempted 23 passes (completing 17 of them for a completion percentage of 73.9) and only threw for 156 yards. He did run the ball 14 times for 57 yards as well. But he did exactly what was needed to help the Steelers win. He didn’t turn the ball over and he made the key plays when needed. Even Dan Orlovsky was impressed by Fields’ performance in the unexpected start.
“The most impressive thing to me about it, especially considering his reputation in Chicago when he arrived here in Pittsburgh was turn the ball over, zero turnovers,” Ray Fittipaldo said on Monday’s episode of the North Shore Drive podcast. “If he does that with the Steelers’ defense, they win a lot of games as long as he has to be the quarterback.”
It was a vintage Mike Tomlin win. The Steelers ran the ball and bullied the opposing offense into making all the mistakes. Falcons QB Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions against the Steelers while Fields played largely mistake-free football, especially when it mattered most.
And Fields did make a couple of big plays. When the Falcons scored a touchdown with under a minute remaining in the first half, Fields responded. He found WR George Pickens for a 41-yard gain to get the Steelers into field goal range with only one second left on the clock. It was plays like that and the third-down conversion with his feet that made the difference.
“Justin Fields has proven that he can do whatever it takes to help the Steelers win the football game,” Fittipaldo said. “They still don’t have that exposure to Russell Wilson. So automatically for Mike Tomlin, you’re thinking, ‘Okay, I’m gonna play this out with Justin Fields until I absolutely know that Russell Wilson is 100 percent.’ To me, everything points in the direction that Justin Fields is going to be this team’s quarterback until Wilson is fully healthy.”
The Steelers have a rough schedule this season, but the worst part of it is the second half. So now is the “best” time for this problem to surface. If Fields can keep playing mistake-free football until Wilson is fully ready to go, the Steelers will have a shot to win every game they play. Then Wilson can step in and hopefully show why the Steelers and Tomlin think so highly of him.
That could be as soon as this Sunday. The Steelers play Wilson’s old team, the Denver Broncos. It’s been a hyped game since the schedule was released. It’s a chance for revenge for Wilson on the team that unceremoniously dumped him this offseason. The injury obviously puts that in jeopardy, but Wilson will be doing everything he can to be ready for it.
And if Fields can continue to improve as he did during training camp, maybe he’ll prove that he can lead the Steelers now and in the future. There is no doubt that all the physical tools are there. The concern is the mental game. And Fields showed on Sunday that he can play calmly and minimize his mistakes in a true game environment. It’s exactly what the Steelers want and need out of him right now.
If Fields can build on that, maybe he’ll deliver on that athletic promise and become a superstar quarterback like Rex Ryan thinks he can be. Regardless of what the future holds, the Steelers can have confidence that Fields isn’t going to cost them a football game.
You can watch the entire episode of the North Shore Drive podcast below:
