When an NFL team is 4-2, it usually doesn’t make a change at quarterback. The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t seem to care about that. They made a commitment to Russell Wilson before the season started, and it looks like they’re sticking to it. Mike Tomlin has danced around it, but it’s very likely that Justin Fields will be heading to the bench this week. NFL analyst Peter Schrager believes this could be a dangerous decision.
“Tomlin has not announced anything officially,” Schrager said Friday on Good Morning Football. “I think they’re gonna go to Russell because why would you even bother splitting reps? The fact that we don’t know and they’re a 4-2 team, not a 2-4 team, it’s playing with fire. But I trust Mike Tomlin in these situations.”
It is odd that Tomlin hasn’t come out and actually named a starter yet. He likely wants to force the New York Jets to devote time to preparing for both quarterbacks, but it couldn’t be any more obvious that Wilson is starting. There’s no competitive advantage if the other team knows what your plan is. All Tomlin has done is create unnecessary confusion.
From that point of view, the Steelers are playing with fire. Rather than make an actual decision, they’ve almost gone with a half-measure. There are legitimate reasons to go with either Fields or Wilson. Fields has been the starter for six games and hasn’t looked bad. The offense has been slow starting, but that’s not his fault. Wilson was named the starter initially, so he must have instilled some confidence in the Steelers.
Instead, Tomlin is playing coy. If you listen to anyone talk to the media, it becomes crystal clear they know who’s going to start. Fields outright admitted that he feels like he hasn’t played well enough to continue starting. He actually looked fine, but even if he doesn’t know he’s getting benched, the uncertainty has him questioning himself.
Tomlin is one of the best coaches in the league, though, so he does earn some benefit of the doubt. This situation will be easier to dissect once Wilson actually plays in a game. If he looks fine, then perhaps Tomlin was correct that he should start. If he has a terrible game, this situation will only get murkier. One thing that is for certain is that this story is far from over.
