Just a few plays after a dynamic 30-yard punt return from wide receiver Calvin Austin III, the Pittsburgh Steelers appeared to be in business trailing 17-3 early in the third quarter and in striking distance of the end zone.
But three plays after the punt return, quarterback Justin Fields made a catastrophic mistake, scrambling around trying to make a play with two free rushers coming at him. Fields ultimately lost 20 yards on the play and then fumbled the football in the process, knocking the Steelers out of field goal range and giving the Colts a short field.
Fortunately, the Colts went on to miss a field goal on the ensuing drive, but that mistake and the inability to throw hot when he should have stuck with Fields after the loss.
“…Just like I gotta take better care of the ball on that third down that we had in field goal range, again. Just gotta get the ball out. I was hot,” Fields said of the mistake on that third down resulting in the fumble, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “Gotta get the ball out to the flat to somebody, to Najee [Harris] and let him catch and run. At worst, we kick a field goal and at the end of the game we’re tied 27-27 with the chance to go down and win the game with the field goal.”
In the moment when the play first happened, it was clear that Fields was hot and had both Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth free to his left on hot routes.
Instead, Fields looked right and started to scramble as he saw Colts’ slot cornerback Chris Lammons rushing in free. Colts’ linebacker E.J. Speed came free, too, leading to Fields scrambling around trying to make a play, turning a negative play worse as he backtracked to midfield and then coughed the football up in the process.
It was a poor read and his eyes weren’t where they were supposed to be on the blitz with the hot routes to his left.
He’s right in that he knows he was hot and should have gotten the ball out quick. Ultimately, that didn’t happen, and the Steelers squandered a chance at points. It made the comeback attempt all that much more difficult.
Fortunately for the Steelers, Fields took the fumble in stride and bounced back in a major way, playing some great football down the stretch as he nearly led the Steelers to the comeback. It wasn’t enough in the end, though, and the squandering of a potential field goal on the drive loomed large late in the game.
It’s a mistake Fields has to learn from. In-game, it appears that he learned from it. But for now, it’s back to the drawing board once again.
