The Pittsburgh Steelers left Las Vegas with what looked to be a big 32-13 win over the Raiders on Sunday afternoon. But it wasn’t all roses through the early goings. The Steelers trailed 7-6 late in the first half. But the offense had a golden chance to turn that around after T.J. Watt punched the ball out of Dylan Laube’s hands and Keeanu Benton recovered the loose ball.
But the offense struggled. QB Justin Fields threw a pick that was negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty. And on 3rd-and-2 from the Raiders’ 4-yard line, RB Najee Harris only picked up a yard. That put head coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers in a bind. Do they settle for the field goal or try to pick up the first down? Tomlin sent the offense back out to pick it up with under a minute remaining in the half. And you could sense the pressure on Fields’ shoulders.
What would happen if Fields and the offense failed?
“If they get stopped on fourth down there, I think it would have been very, very easy for Mike Tomlin to go to Russell Wilson at halftime and have him start the second half,” said Ray Fittipaldo on Monday’s episode of the North Shore Drive Podcast. “Justin made a play, and maybe he saved his job because things kind of got rolling in the second half.”
The Steelers lined up with three tight ends on the line of scrimmage, a fullback, and Harris lined up in the tail of the I formation. At the snap, Fields faked the handoff to Harris and surveyed the field. With no one open, Fields scrambled left and then outran DE Tyree Wilson to the pylon for the score. The Steelers failed the 2-point conversion but took the lead and never really looked back.
4th down. Justin Fields gets the touchdown.
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It was not the prettiest of wins for the Steelers despite the big scoreline. Fields also ran in another touchdown in the second half. But the passing offense continued to struggle as Fields only threw for 145 yards.
But it’s hard to make a switch at quarterback when the offense puts up 30+ points for the first time this season. The biggest difference from last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys is that Fields and the Steelers took advantage of the takeaways. The Steelers scored 17 points off the 3 turnovers against the Raiders and that’s why they won going away.
So will Fields start Week 7 against the New York Jets?
“I think if the Steelers really want to be true playoff contenders come December, come January, and I know there’s time to work on it, they got to get better in the passing game,” Fittipaldo said. “And to me, it’s just not working right now with Justin Fields. You know, we’re going to be in Week 7, he’s going to be the starter… Eventually, we’re going to see Russell Wilson, Chris. But I just don’t think it’s gonna be this week against the Jets, at least not as a starter.”
Chris Simms thinks this will continue to be the conversation as long as Fields isn’t dominating games through the air. It’s a tough situation because Wilson missed so much time both over the summer and at the start of the season. And Fields has won four games in that span. But he hasn’t been lights-out. And the prospect of a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in the wings is on everyone’s minds.
So just how much longer Fields stays the starter is very much up in the air. Fittipaldo thinks it would have ended in the visitor’s locker room in Las Vegas if Fields hadn’t found the end zone on that 4th-and-1 play late in the first half.
But Fields did, the Steelers won going away, and he should start next week. If he wants to stay starting, he’s going to have to start stringing together bigger and better passing performances, though. And the specter of Wilson will continue to hang over him the rest of the season, especially with reports that Tomlin really wants to play Wilson.
