It’s never easy when a quarterback gets replaced. It’s even harder when you’re 4-2, playing well, and still get sat down. That’s where Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields found himself in Week 7, swapped out for a healthy Russell Wilson and Mike Tomlin curious to see if the offense could be elevated.
Wilson has taken the unit to new heights, cementing his spot after the bye and beyond. QBs coach Tom Arth, another new face in a new quarterback room, credited Fields for his maturity in handling it all.
“The guy had 10 touchdowns against one turnover,” Arth told reporters Wednesday in video provided by the team. “That’s as good a football as any quarterback was playing in the NFL in that stretch. I think it says a lot about Justin, the person who he is, what he’s got inside of him, what he is made of, for him to respond the way that he did. To be so supportive of the decision, to be so supportive of Russell. To be just bought into our team and winning football games regardless of his role in that.
“That certainly doesn’t mean that he wasn’t disappointed and isn’t motivated by that. But he’s handled it as well as I think anybody could have.”
Fields has played the season with loose job security. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers worked on a week-to-week basis while Wilson rehabbed a calf strain aggravation that vaulted Fields from backup to starter three days before the regular season began. He avoided the pitfalls of what sunk him in Chicago, limiting turnovers and negative plays while thriving under the Steelers’ more stable culture and better surrounding talent. Pittsburgh got off to a 3-0 start before stumbling against the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys. In his final start, Justin Fields led the Steelers to a season-high 32 points, blowing out the Las Vegas Raiders on the road.
That made Tomlin’s decision to turn to Wilson an unpopular one. He acknowledged going “lone ranger,” an admission even those inside his own building preferred to stick with Fields. But Fields has handled the situation with class. During that week, he told reporters he hadn’t played well enough to keep the job. And since being benched, he’s made no fuss about it, once taking to Instagram to share his mindset.
Fields seemed poised to take the field against the Giants in situational moments that could utilize his athleticism. But a late-week hamstring injury changed those plans, and he spent the game as the team’s emergency third-string quarterback. Still, he was healthy enough to dress, cameras spotting him sharing a couple of laughs with Wilson as they gathered around Arth on the bench.
The Steelers’ quarterback room has all walks of life. Russell Wilson, third-round pick turned veteran Super Bowl winner. Justin Fields, the first rounder and a decade younger. Kyle Allen, the undrafted journeyman. Despite their differences, Arth says the group is a close bunch.
“Early on, one thing that really stood out to me about our position group and the quarterbacks that we have is they all work so well together. And that includes Kyle. Kyle, Russell, and Justin all have a great relationship and they each bring something special to our group. Their communication, the way they work together, the way they support one another, the way, they learn from each other, I think is really special.”
Through just seven games this season, the Steelers have leaned on all three. Fields to start the first six games, Wilson the past two, and even Allen made his Steelers debut against the Dallas Cowboys, completing a 19-yard pass to jump-start a touchdown drive. No team knows the value of a deep and connected quarterback room like the Steelers, who have played six different quarterbacks since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement. Not only is the room talented, the quarterbacks are humble and all focused on the same thing. Winning.
