It wasn’t a convincing win, but the Pittsburgh Steelers did manage to beat the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. Many analysts had picked against them, and even with Russell Wilson’s injury, they pushed forward and took the win. However, it seems like not everyone feels good about the Steelers just because they won. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith didn’t love what he saw in Sunday’s game.
“I’m not thoroughly impressed,” he said on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show . “My attitude is I don’t know if I should be happy about what I saw from the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don’t even know if they have a quarterback right now because, you know what they say, if you’ve got two quarterbacks, you’ve got zero.”
Smith seems to be unimpressed because the Steelers still didn’t have a great offensive showing, and Justin Fields wasn’t spectacular. It’s fair to not love what the Steelers did offensively against the Falcons. They didn’t score a touchdown, and they struggled to move the ball into Falcons territory. They didn’t even get to the red zone until the fourth quarter.
However, they should probably get a slight pass considering that they weren’t sure who their starting quarterback was going to be until late Sunday morning. Wilson’s injury late in the week probably threw things into slight disarray. Even still, the unit looked better than last year’s offense.
Fields wasn’t awful in the game. His stats don’t scream superstar, but the key point is that he didn’t turn the ball over. He made plays when he needed to, including a few nice throws. He didn’t hurt the Steelers, and if he continues to do that, they should be able to stay competitive.
When Smith says a team with two quarterbacks really has zero quarterbacks, he’s talking about the theory that a team with two potential starters doesn’t have a bona fide one. The reasoning behind that is that both players will be too busy looking over their shoulder at the other guy and they won’t be focused on winning.
The Steelers don’t seem to have that problem. Wilson and Fields got along well during the offseason, working closely together. They’re in a better position because they have both those guys. It gives them options at quarterback and should keep opponents on their toes once they’re both healthy.
If the Steelers beat the Denver Broncos this week, we’ll see if Smith is any more impressed. Not that the Steelers care either. They won their season opener, and that’s all that matters. They’ll work to improve in some areas this week, and hopefully that leads them to score touchdowns in Denver. It’s going to be tough to win every game with field goals.
