Justin Fields has proven a lot in only four starts with the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the Chicago Bears, he didn’t look like a franchise quarterback, but he had moments when looked amazing. With the Steelers, he’s been a little more consistent. He’s cut down on the turnovers and improved his accuracy. It seems like opposing coaches are taking notice of that too.
“I’ve been impressed with the drop-back part of it,” Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said Thursday via the team’s YouTube channel. “[Fields] gets through his progressions pretty cleanly, getting to his checkdowns, you see the ball going to the checkdown a lot. That tells you the level of understanding and comfort that he has in a new offense.
“He not only pulls [the ball] down to run, he pulls it down to throw first too. It’s the two-part scramble that you always look at from the quarterback position.”
Fields has always had a reputation as a brilliant runner, and now it seems his passing abilities are receiving more praise. He’s earned it too. This past game against the Indianapolis Colts was Fields’ best day throwing the ball for the Steelers. That was more due to need than anything, but he still almost won the Steelers the game.
Justin Fields still hasn’t been perfect as a passer, but he’s made great strides. That’s part of the reason why he’s got a good chance to keep the starting job. Really, the best thing about him has been the lack of turnovers. He’s only made two serious errors in four games and be bounced back nicely from both.
McCarthy is correct that Fields has done a better job going through his progressions as well. There are still some hiccups in that area, but he has improved. The problem has been that some of the receivers have struggled to get open. George Pickens has been the Steelers’ only consistent wide receiver, and that has been hurting Fields as a result.
The Steelers’ run game has also been up and down, which is probably due in large part to all the injuries along their offensive line. Fields had to play hero against the Colts, and that’s not how the Steelers want to run their offense. However, Mike Tomlin did appreciate Fields’ willingness to battle back.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer had some pretty scathing remarks about Fields earlier this year, but it sounds like McCarthy doesn’t share that opinion. The Steelers play the Cowboys Sunday night, and we’ll see if Fields can give Zimmer an up-close look at the progress he has made as a passer.
