The Pittsburgh Steelers will likely start Justin Fields at quarterback for the second straight week, and Fields’ ability with his legs has the Denver Broncos treating him like a running back. Sean Payton said Friday that’s how the team will defend Fields.
“Obviously, we’re playing someone this week who’s very mobile. So I think when we talk about defending the run, that includes the quarterback this week like a running back,” Payton told reporters via the Broncos’ Twitter account.
Fields ran the ball a lot in Week 1 and was good with his legs, totaling 14 carries for 57 yards against the Atlanta Falcons. A few of those were RPOs and designed quarterback runs, but Fields also showed the ability to scramble, and Denver is game planning against him in the run game.
Week 1 was not a good performance for the Denver run defense, as the Broncos allowed 146 yards on the ground against the Seattle Seahawks. With the Steelers wanting to run the ball and control the clock, a similar performance from Pittsburgh’s offense running the ball could spell bad news for Denver.
While the Broncos are putting an extra emphasis on Fields and treating him as a running back, the Steelers still have two running backs who can help them win on the ground in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, although Warren could be limited again with a hamstring injury as he was in Week 1.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Steelers approach their offense with a full week of Fields preparing as the starter, but there’s no doubt that the Steelers will try to take advantage of his ability to run again. If Denver can put a stop to that early in the game, the Steelers may have to make some adjustments.
Fields faced Payton’s Broncos last season while with the Chicago Bears, and he didn’t do much on the ground, running just four times for 25 yards, his second-lowest output all season. But he had his best game through the air, completing 28-of-35 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns. If the Steelers can get that from Fields, they’ll absolutely take it, but Fields’ Bears lost, 31-28, in that matchup. Obviously, Pittsburgh is going to do whatever it takes to come away with the win, and hopefully, Fields can excel, even with Denver looking to limit what he does on the ground.
