The Pittsburgh Steelers have been stuck in NFL purgatory for a few seasons. Dating back to Ben Roethlisberger’s final season when his skills were starting to fade, the Steelers haven’t had a quarterback or an offense capable of taking the team to the next level. They have been competitive. We all know about the non-losing season streak, but has the team been a real threat to make noise in the playoffs for the last handful of years? Justin Fields, if he continues his current trajectory, could get them there.
Pat Freiermuth wrote a lengthy piece for The Players’ Tribune, and discussed Fields’ talents as the Steelers’ quarterback.
“And then we saw Justin spin that football,” Freiermuth wrote about seeing Fields at training camp. “I remember one of the first days, when they finally started opening up the playbook, Justin took a deep shot down the field to GP [George Pickens] on a post [route], and it was into a really tight window — one of those tight, tight NFL windows — and there’s only a handful of guys in the world who can hit that window.
“Justin hit it. And you could feel all the guys just looking at one another like: ‘Damn. He’s legit. We’re Gonna be OK. We’re Gonna be more than OK.'”
We have seen a couple of those types of passes from Fields in the regular season this year. One of them got called back due to a holding penalty, but it was perhaps Fields’ best pass of the season. He escaped pressure and delivered an absolute dime on the run to Pickens, who was tightly covered by CB Patrick Surtain II.
Fields has led the Steelers to a 3-1 record so far, and the only loss was maybe Fields’ best game. He had a couple major errors, but the high-end of his play in that game was really high. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said “he damn near took over the game.”
Fields’ play in training camp gave the team a sigh of relief after thinking Russell Wilson’s injury could potentially derail the season. They spent all offseason thinking that a future Hall of Fame quarterback would lead the team, only to have a calf injury put that at risk. Any possible disappointment that came with that reality was quickly eased by Fields’ great performance throughout training camp.
It goes beyond his physical talents, too. Freiermuth described his ability to lead the team.
“Just his presence in the huddle, his confidence — and the way Russ has helped him build that confidence — it’s been awesome to watch,” Freiermuth wrote.
Mike Tomlin praised Fields after the loss, saying he didn’t show any blink. He was steady throughout the game, even when they were down 17-0. And they were very close to completing the comeback with three-straight touchdown drives starting at the end of the third quarter.
We will see if Fields ends up being the permanent starter. Tomlin said there is potential for that, but they aren’t ready to make any declarations quite yet. It sure seems like the team is rallying around him as their leader, and believe in his abilities to elevate the team. That is half the battle for a quarterback, and he proved he can do that on Sunday.
