Coming out of Sunday’s 18-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Justin Fields and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation is going to be a large talking point leading up to Week 2 against the Denver Broncos.
Fields managed the game well in Atlanta on Sunday, avoided the killer mistakes and piloted the Steelers to a big win on the road after being dealt some adversity late in the week of preparation ahead of the matchup against the Falcons.
But the big question is, was Fields’ performance Sunday in Atlanta enough to have him hold onto the starting quarterback job, especially if Wilson is healthy enough to play in Week 2?
For ESPN’s Dan Graziano, it’s an overreaction to believe Fields will keep the starting quarterback job after the win against the Falcons. In a piece for ESPN.com, Graziano said that while Fields did enough to win, the conservative play calling from coordinator Arthur Smith showed that the Steelers don’t have much confidence in Fields — at least right now.
“The main reason Wilson won the competition for the starting job was that the Steelers still don’t fully trust Fields as much as they trust Wilson to process what he’s seeing from opposing defenses and be accurate on short- and midrange throws. They view Fields as a developmental player who has enough skill and experience that they can play him if need be — but he isn’t their top choice just yet,” Graziano writes regarding the Steelers’ quarterback situation. “The game Smith called Sunday proves that. Fields’ average throw in the first half went 3.9 yards downfield, which is half of what he averaged last season in Chicago.
“As long as the Steelers have edge rusher T.J. Watt — who dominated the second half Sunday and ended the game with a cherry-on-top sack of Cousins and then bowed to the many, many Steelers fans in the crowd for a road game — it might not matter whether Wilson or Fields plays quarterback,” Graziano continued. “But Wilson is Pittsburgh’s choice right now if both guys are healthy, and I believe you will see him in there once his calf is healed.”
While Fields did what was asked of him, avoided the killer mistakes and used his legs well to help navigate the Steelers to points consistently on Sunday in Atlanta, it was quite clear with the play-calling that the Steelers and Smith didn’t fully trust Fields as a passer.
That’s perfectly understandable, too. This was a situation where Fields had to step in as the starter late in the week, throwing the preparation aspect through a loop. While Fields stated that he prepares like the starter no matter what, it’s different going from little to no reps, to handling heavy reps on a Friday ahead of the season opener.
Plus, with his turnover history and how shaky he looked early on, Smith did well to limit things for Fields in the passing game. Smith schemed up easy throws and utilized Fields’ running ability, too.
It all worked out in the end, but it was nowhere near enough for the Steelers to stick with Fields as the starter moving forward. Head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters “ask me that on Tuesday” to shoot down the question about who the starting QB is for Week 2.
But based on how the Steelers handled everything all offseason and named Wilson the starter after training camp, they’ll likely turn back to Wilson once he’s healthy to be the starting quarterback due to his ability to process the field and work in the quick passing game.
