Like many mobile quarterbacks in the NFL, Justin Fields has been labeled a better athlete than he is a starting-caliber quarterback. For the most part, those criticisms have been fair as Fields won just 10 games over his first 38 starts in the league. He put up the second-most rushing yards in a single season for a quarterback in 2022 with 1,143, but that came with a 3-12 record as the starter that year.
Former NFL head coach Rex Ryan believes Fields that is starting to close the gap between an athlete and a quarterback.
“Here’s what I know about Justin Fields, alright? He’s a dang winner,” Ryan said via ESPN’s Get Up on Monday morning. “He’s 6-2 over his last eight games as a starter, alright, so he finds a way to get it done. He came into the league as a better athlete than quarterback. Uh oh, he’s closing that gap a little bit as a quarterback.
“Absolutely I’m not gonna bench this guy. No, I got a perfect situation in Pittsburgh. If I’m the Steelers, I got Russell Wilson behind him if something happened. I tell you what, this kid, I’ve been impressed with him. I’ve been impressed with the whole offense quite honestly.”
On paper the offense hasn’t been all that impressive. Scoring just 15.5 points per game typically wouldn’t equate to a 2-0 start, but the Steelers have been avoiding the big mistakes. There have been zero turnovers on offense. They have won the time-of-possession battle in each of the first two gamess. And the production would look much better if not for self-inflicted wounds.
The Steelers have been one of the most highly penalized teams in football through the first two weeks. There have been 24 penalties called against the Steelers with 19 accepted. Both of those figures are the second-most in the league. These have directly affected Fields’ numbers more than most with 107 passing yards and a touchdown wiped out by penalties. One penalty directly took a touchdown away while two long passes to Pickens would have set up additional scoring opportunities.
Just look at this dime from Fields to Pickens that was negated by a Broderick Jones holding penalty, shared via Richard Sherman on X. When Ryan talks about Fields closing the gap between athlete and quarterback, this is a great example. He extends the play and uses athleticism to his advantage, but still throws a beautiful, perfectly placed ball to Pickens on the run for a would-be 51-yard gain.
Through his two starts with the Steelers, Fields has completed 30 of his 43 attempts for 273 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. He has also chipped in 22 rushing attempts for 84 yards while only being sacked four times. Those aren’t amazing numbers, but they would look much better if not for the self-inflicted wounds that weren’t his fault.
Reports suggest he will get at least one more opportunity to start. Once is by chance, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. Fields might have a chance to prove this is a pattern next week against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Steelers’ home opener.
