The quarterback situation for the Pittsburgh Steelers hasn’t gone as planned to start the 2024 season, but sometimes the alternate route can provide positive and unexpected results.
Through the first quarter of the 2024 season, Justin Fields has been that alternate route, and he is providing significant hope to the franchise that he can possibly be the quarterback solution of both the present and the future.
At 25 years old, the best-case scenario was always for Fields to win the job from the 35-year-old Russell Wilson. Nothing against Wilson, but he is closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Fields didn’t exactly win the job, at least not at first, but he has taken advantage of the opportunity while Wilson is dealing with a calf injury. So much so that it seems likely that Wilson loses his QB1 job when he is fully cleared.
Future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt was interviewed by Fox News Digital on a wide range of topics, including about his brother T.J., but he discussed Fields’ progression. J.J. said he is loving what he’s seeing from the young Steelers quarterback.
“He’s improved every game,” Watt said via Scott Thompson of Fox News Digital. “…As he’s gone each week, his confidence has grown. Obviously, his running ability, we’ve all known about that, so that adds to it. But he’s getting that belief in himself and the team is believing in him, so everything is coming together, and it’s working very well.”
I pulled the yards per play and success rate of the offense after the first two weeks, and again this week to capture all four weeks of the season so far. They haven’t made the big leap to be a top offense yet, but they are inching in the right direction.
The offense was expected to need time to jell with the young offensive line, the new coordinator, and two new quarterbacks. Given the injuries along the offensive line and in the running back room, and the fact that Fields unexpectedly ended up starting the first four games, progress is all that is needed. The arrow is currently pointing up for that group, and Fields is a big part of it.
He had his most productive outing of the season against the Indianapolis Colts with 312 passing yards and 3 total touchdowns. A lot of that was accomplished over the last 20 minutes of the game. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said he “damn near took over the game.”
Meanwhile, Mike Tomlin showed the first sign of changing his tune when it comes to the QB competition. After deflecting questions for weeks, he said there is potential for Justin Fields to be the hot hand that retains the job when Russell Wilson is healthy.
