Justin Fields played well against the Atlanta Falcons, but he still had noticeable issues. Therefore, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be faced with a difficult decision this week. Their next game is against the Denver Broncos, and Russell Wilson is surely going to do everything in his power to play against his old team. However, it might be hard to tell Fields to go back to the bench after he won the game. Analyst Rich Eisen believes the Steelers turn to Wilson if they have any sympathy in their heart.
On a new episode of his podcast, The Overreaction Monday Podcast, Eisen outlines a scenario where he can see Wilson being named the starter.
“I think they should stick with Justin Fields, but if there is any sort of allegiance or bleeding heart, you gotta turn to Russ [Wilson] and say, ‘Let’s use you. Let’s ride, let’s go into this spot. The reason why you’re here is they dead-capped you. How about you put a cap in them.'”
That’s about as good a reason as any to start Wilson. It isn’t like he didn’t start in Week 1 because he got benched. He got injured, and while it isn’t serious, the Steelers don’t want it to become serious. He won the quarterback battle. If he’s healthy this week, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Steelers give him the nod.
However, it seems like Wilson might have to sit this week out, too, which would be unfortunate. He’s been a leader since coming to the Steelers, and this is probably the game he was looking forward to the most. Hopefully, he can make a swift recovery, and even if he isn’t ready this week, he may be healthy for Week 3.
Eisen seems to believe that the Steelers should start Fields unless they feel sympathetic toward Wilson’s situation. It isn’t likely they’ll consider that, though. Mixing personal feelings with business can be tough, and Mike Tomlin is dedicated to winning over anything else. If he thinks Fields gives them the best chance to win, then they’ll start him.
We’ll see later this week how much work Wilson gets. He still suited up for the Falcons game, so maybe he’ll do enough to start this week. It would certainly be a great story if Wilson recovered enough to beat his old team. However, any story ending with the Steelers winning is good.
