Justin Fields is achieving success with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a weekly basis that he never saw in Chicago. In Week 2, he helped achieve a record two games over .500 for the first time in his career. Yesterday, he unlocked another first: his first winning streak of more than two games.
Fields won back-to-back games just three times during his three years in Chicago, including 38 starts. He did that twice during his final six games with the Bears, granted, and is now 7-2 in his last nine starts overall going back to his final season in Chicago. But going three years without a three-game winning streak says a lot about a team. Especially when you do it immediately with a new team.
“It means a lot, but at the end of the day, it’s not just me winning games”, Fields said after the Steelers defeated the Chargers to improve to 3-0 yesterday, via the team’s website. “It’s the whole team. I’m just happy to be a part of this team, happy to be a part of this organization, and we definitely look forward to keeping it going next week versus Indy”.
Justin Fields had arguably his best game on Sunday, going 25-of-32 passing for 245 yards. He threw a 55-yard touchdown, running for another, though he also threw an interception after a bad decision. But he is already beating himself up plenty over it, so not to worry.
In fact, the Steelers are 3-0 to start a season for just the third time since 2010, the second time in recent decades they did so without Ben Roethlisberger. As you might remember, they had to win with Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch to start that year. Now add Fields to that list, who did it starting all three games and playing every snap.
On the whole, I think Justin Fields is shifting perceptions about him. Winning always helps that, and he is already 30 percent of the way toward doubling his career win total. But he has played well overall, and that includes plays that didn’t count, like his 51-yard connection last week.
There’s a season the Bears drafted Fields so high in 2021, and nobody has ever questioned his pure talent. But it’s also fair to say that he has continued to grow and evolve, potentially taking a big step here. Whether that is due to natural maturation, better coaching, or simply a better team, it’s hard to say. Likely, it’s a combination of everything.
But let’s not forget one basic fact. Justin Fields is a 25-year-old quarterback in his NFL fourth season. He is a young player who is at the early stages of his career relative to his position. To see him take significant steps forward in his career should not be surprising, if we are indeed seeing that.
