The Pittsburgh Steelers dug themselves a 17-point hole in their loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, but when it came down to crunch time, they had the ball in their hands with a two-minute opportunity to go down the field and win the game. Justin Fields was a huge part of that turnaround.
They ultimately fell short of completing the comeback, but if it wasn’t for the efforts of Fields, they wouldn’t have been in position to win the game in the first place.
“I thought in that second half, what was cool to watch as a coach and a play caller, when somebody gets that kind of flow, he damn near took the game over,” Steelers OC Arthur Smith said Thursday via a transcribed quote from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor on X. “When that happens and you feel it with a player, it didn’t matter what I called. You felt him rolling.”
Ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired, and probably including the last few years of his career as he began to decline, the Steelers haven’t had a quarterback who is capable of taking over a game. They have been forced to rely on a conservative approach, their defense, and just enough timely plays on offense to secure victory. Fields showed a glimpse of being that dominant quarterback who can be a reason why the Steelers win on Sunday, even as they fell short in Indianapolis
“That’s what was such a bitter pill to swallow, how the game ended,” Smith said.
Fields accounted for 367 yards of total offense, 312 passing yards and 55 rushing yards. He also scored two touchdowns with his legs and threw a scoring pass to TE Pat Freiermuth. It was by far his most productive game as a Steeler.
It wasn’t the entire second half, either. Fields really came alive with just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Steelers scored touchdowns on three-straight drives.
Over the final four drives of the game, Fields completed 10-of-17 attempts for 172 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball six times for 41 yards and two touchdowns. So in the final 20 minutes and 49 seconds of game time, Fields accounted for 213 yards and three touchdowns. That is something the Steelers haven’t seen from a quarterback in quite some time.
It is probably one of the reasons why Mike Tomlin showed the first sign of changing his tune this week when asked if Fields might remain the hot hand even after Russell Wilson is fully healthy. After previously deflecting all such questions, Tomlin said there is potential for that to be the case but that the Steelers aren’t quite there yet.
With how glowingly Smith talked about Fields, I would think they are a lot closer than Tomlin was letting on. He will now have the chance to prove it on the biggest stage against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
