The Pittsburgh Steelers spent much of the first half against the Indianapolis Colts looking lost and ineffective on both sides of the ball on Sunday. The Steelers were able to respond in the second half but it just wasn’t enough, losing 27-24. It continued QB Justin Fields’ dubious streak of never winning a game when his defense gives up 20+ points in a game.
Was this game a sign of things to come for Pittsburgh? Was the defense’s strong showing in the first three games of the season a farce? Or was it simply a bad game?
“Bad game,” said former NFL head coach Rex Ryan on Get Up on ESPN Monday morning. “Look, Justin Fields, by the way, great game. Announcers, oh, you think they’ll go to Russell? What? Justin Fields wasn’t playing defensive tackle or safety in that game. Are you kidding me? Dude had like 450 yards! When’s the last time Pittsburgh had 450 yards? I mean, that’s a great sign that Justin Fields is just balling, getting better and better.”
Fields completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 312 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball 10 times for 55 yards and 2 touchdowns. He fumbled twice (losing one) and was sacked 4 times. It was by no means a perfect game from Fields, but he scored 3 second-half touchdowns to get the Steelers back into the game.
Unfortunately, the Steelers trailed 17-3 at halftime after allowing the Colts to eviscerate the defense. Former Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns QB Joe Flacco had to come in for injured starter Anthony Richardson on the first drive of the game and threw 2 touchdowns in relief. In total, the Steelers defense gave up 358 yards and 27 points.
That’s not the kind of performance anyone expected after the first three games. And that’s why Ryan brought up that Fields doesn’t play on the defensive side of the ball.
Could Fields have played better? Absolutely. But to pin this loss on Fields and use it as an excuse to elevate Russell Wilson seems ridiculous. Fields engineered three touchdown drives and a fourth scoring drive. The offense had 404 (not 450 as Ryan said) total yards.
Does the offense need to get off to a faster start? Absolutely. Perhaps offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and head coach Mike Tomlin need to put more faith in Fields earlier in the game. He stepped up when needed against the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday and against the Colts in the second half yesterday. So maybe the key to a faster start is letting Fields attack more early. At least, that’s what Chris Simms thinks.
