For the last few weeks, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has railed against the Pittsburgh Steelers under head coach Mike Tomlin, voicing his frustrations about the Steelers’ offense and the play of quarterback Justin Fields, stating time and time again that he’d put Russell Wilson in the lineup once he’s healthy.
But after Sunday’s performance against the Los Angeles Chargers in the 20-10 win to move to 3-0 on the season, Smith is singing a different tune.
During an appearance Monday on ESPN’s “First Take,” Smith stated that he’s changed his mind regarding the Steelers’ quarterback situation and would keep Fields in the lineup because he “loved” what he saw from the fourth-year quarterback Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
“I ain’t gonna take Justin Fields outta the lineup. Now, I know that I said before I…wanna see Russell Wilson, but I have changed my mind. I ain’t taking them outta the lineup. Now, I loved what I saw from him yesterday,” Smith said of Fields, according to video via ESPN. “First of all, he completed his first 10 throws. And I know they was short and intermediate throws, and I get all of that. But his decision making, running with the football as well, being that dual threat, some of the throws that he was doing, I liked what I saw. Threw an interception, but for the most part, he protected the football, getting rid of it when necessary. Not taking sacks like the 99 sacks over the last two years he took, coming into this season, he’s being well coached. Mike Tomlin, just continuing to show his greatness.”
“This is the fourth time they started up three and oh with him as the coach. The other three times were 2007, 2010, 2020, and they made the playoffs each time. I get all of that, one of those years they went to the Super Bowl, if I remember correctly. I mean, I’m just looking at them right now. I’m happy with what I’m seeing.”
Sitting at 3-0, the Steelers are feeling good about the start to the season, and observers should be pretty happy with what they’re seeing, especially coming out of Sunday’s win over the Chargers.
Going into that matchup against the Chargers, the Steelers had a lot to prove against a physical opponent, one that had been dominating opponents early in the season. The Chargers were very much the bullies coming into the game, but the Steelers proved to be the real bullies.
They did that, too, thanks to the play from Fields under center. Fields threw for 245 yards and a touchdown and added a rushing touchdown. His success through the air opened up the run game late for running backs Najee Harris and Cordarrelle Patterson, who hammered away against the Chargers’ defensive front, wearing them down late.
Within that play, Fields is really settling into the scheme under Arthur Smith, taking what’s there through the air, reading the field well, making the smart throws and avoiding the turnovers. He’s not taking sacks, either, which is key.
That style of play offensively is playing right into the hands of the Steelers’ defense, too, which took over the game Sunday and suffocated Los Angeles in the second half.
“So I’m looking at the defense and what have you, and I know that they got the pieces around him offensively. It was just about that quarterback position and Justin Fields yesterday against a Chargers defense that was only giving up like six and a half points, again coming into the game for crying out loud, I mean, to see him be able to do what he did when it counted against that defense. Can’t say enough about him,” Smith said of Fields. “Very impressed with him. And I would concede, I’m not taking him out of the lineup, but when we ask how dangerous are they in the AFC, it’s one thing for him not to mess up and to show the improvement that he’s shown.
“I just still need to see some offensive firepower from this team. I firmly believe in the defense. I need to see some offensive firepower from this team if I’m going to believe that they’re going to be that big bonafide dangerous threat in the AFC.”
Things are going very well for the Steelers right now.
They’re dominating the time of possession, running the ball relatively well, avoiding the killer mistakes and are just taking everything possible away from opposing offenses with a star-studded defense.
That might not be a true recipe for contention in today’s NFL, at least right now. But the Steelers are handling business well through the first three weeks of the regular season and are stacking wins. Hard to argue against that, or attempt to make any sort of changes.
