Justin Fields has been good enough for the Pittsburgh Steelers to get them to 3-1, but he’s still made mistakes. They’ve been fairly limited though. He hasn’t committed as many turnovers as some people would’ve expected, and that’s part of the reason why he’s contending to keep the starting job. Analyst Colin Cowherd believes that Fields has done enough to remain the starter, and that people shouldn’t keep asking for more.
“It’s not a perfect world,” Cowherd said Tuesday on his show, The Herd. “Andrew Luck came into the league, threw a ton of picks. Peyton Manning threw a ton of picks. If you’re sitting around looking for perfect, you’re not gonna get it from quarterbacks. Even Mahomes, every week, has a terrible pick. Get over perfect. Justin Fields is young, athletic, dynamic.”
Cowherd actually makes a good point here. It’s tough to find a perfect quarterback. Really, it’s more about finding one that limits mistakes and can battle back when things do go wrong. Fields has fit that bill so far.
Fields has only had two turnovers this season, and he’s done a good job rebounding from both. One was an interception against the Los Angeles Chargers, and he responded by leading a drive that ended in a field goal. He didn’t get upset or compound that with another bad decision. He stepped up and made up for the error.
The other turnover was a little uglier. Against the Indianapolis Colts, Fields scrambled backwards and lost the ball, giving the opposing team great field position. Even though the Steelers were having a bad game, he followed up that gaff by leading three straight touchdown drives. It was maybe the most impressive he’d been all season.
Mike Tomlin seemed very impressed with Fields’ work against the Colts too. That ability to stay calm and poised in the face of adversity stuck out to Tomlin. The Steelers obviously don’t want to be in those situations, but it gave them a chance to see what Fields was made of. He did not squander that opportunity.
Fields is going to make mistakes, but so does every quarterback. He’s been good at protecting the football so far. If the Steelers can get out of their own way, he could lead them to success on offense. In Week 4, he proved he can make big time throws late in the game. Going forward, if he keeps that up, he’ll have every right to keep the starting job.
