After the first play in the second half of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Steelers’ QB Justin Fields had to leave the game after taking a huge hit from Cowboys’ DE Tyrus Wheat, and QB Kyle Allen came in for two snaps while Fields got a concussion check. It was one of the biggest hits you’ll see a quarterback take, and former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger called the hit “unbelievable” and said he thought it would be a lot worse for Fields than it ended up being.
“I don’t think he saw the guy. I really don’t because [Justin] Fields is a really big dude. And he got lifted up like a little bit of a ragdoll, and he’s a big strong man,” Roethlisberger said on the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast. “It was unbelievable. For him to get back up like I was waiting for blood to be pouring out of his mouth. I didn’t know what was going on.”
As Roethlisberger said, Fields isn’t a small quarterback, listed at 6’3″ and 227 pounds, so for him to get thrown like that was shocking. It definitely looked like the hit could’ve resulted in something a lot worse than just the mandatory concussion check for Fields after the medical spotter called for one. Fields ended up throwing a touchdown to TE Connor Heyward later in the drive.
Unfortunately, Pittsburgh’s offense just couldn’t do enough, and despite two second-half touchdown passes for Fields, the three points the Steelers scored in the first half wound up being too little in the loss. Luckily for the Steelers and Fields, though, he somehow avoided a concussion or another injury from the hit, which saw him get smacked by Wheat and then also hit his head on the ground.
The play by Fields was a little bit Roethlisberger-esque, except with much more mobility. Roethlisberger was excellent at extending plays. Fields was able to extend the play here by reversing back to his left after rolling out right and getting rid of it before taking a sack. However, he paid the price with the hit by Wheat.
I don’t think Roethlisberger is alone in thinking that things could’ve ended up worse for Fields when watching it live. As the camera went to cut away to the ball, the last we saw of Fields was him getting crushed by Wheat, who was flagged on the play.
The replay didn’t make things look any better, but Fields popped right up and was ready to stay in the game until referee Shawn Hochuli told him he had to leave. It was a quick concussion check, and Fields was cleared to return. He then put together his best sequence of the game, but it just wouldn’t be enough.
We’ll see what Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation looks like going forward, with Russell Wilson reportedly going to be healthy enough to play Sunday. Still, no one should question Fields’ toughness after laying it all on the line for the Steelers last night.
