Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields put up some strong numbers on Sunday, even in a losing effort. In fact, he managed some firsts for the team since Ben Roethlisberger retired, as a team and as an individual. He had his low moments, some of which were critical, but he showed that he is a legitimate talent.
Fields finished Sunday’s game 22-of-34 for 312 yards and one touchdown pass with no interceptions. He also rushed for 55 yards with two touchdowns. He is just the second player in Steelers history with that combination of yardage and scoring with some interesting company. Names like Kordell Stewart and Bobby Layne, to be more specific.
But more immediately, Fields is the first quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger to throw for 300-plus yards and at least one touchdown for the Steelers. Since Roethlisberger retired, the Steelers had had just one 300-yard game. Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yards in a 38-3 loss to the Bills in 2022.
Fields is also the first quarterback to lead the Steelers to three consecutive scoring drives since Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger managed that feat twice during his final season in 2021. The Steelers had not done that since then until Sunday.
Of course, the Steelers lost both of the games in which Roethlisberger achieved that feat in 2021. He produced three consecutive second-half touchdowns in a 36-28 loss to the Vikings—but they were already trailing 29-0. A third consecutive touchdown against the Chargers plus a field goal gave them a late fourth-quarter lead, but Justin Herbert had the last laugh.
Likewise, it was too little, too late for Justin Fields on Sunday—though not by much. It didn’t help that the Colts kept scoring in between his touchdown drives, two of which he finished himself. He recorded two rushing touchdowns before finding Pat Freiermuth to make it 27-24.
The Steelers got Fields the ball back with 2:39 to play, and they did move the ball initially. But you know what happened next: center-quarterback exchange issues. Zach Frazier snapped the ball off an unprepared Justin Fields’ facemask, spelling doom for the rest of the drive.
As you would expect, most of Fields’ yardage came during these late-game heroics, the run game never really taking off. Of course, the Steelers fell behind by 17 points early, so it’s not surprising that he was able to put up numbers.
Defenses will give you more cushion when they’re protecting a three-possession lead, more concerned about giving up the big play than the little one. Justin Fields still hit some vertical balls, and they also had some YAC success.
But can Fields deliver this kind of passing performance as a proactive approach rather than reactive? Can he win games with his arm rather than try to claw the Steelers back into the competition? He only had one 300-yard game during his Bears career, but that was in a defensive collapse. And it was Russell Wilson who came from behind in the final 16 minutes. That included Fields losing a fumble on a sack that the Broncos returned for the game-tying touchdown. Not saying, just saying.
