Two weeks ago, Justin Fields led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He played confidently and made some big plays down the stretch to help Pittsburgh reach a 3-0 record. At the time, a large portion of the fan base started clamoring for Fields to keep the starting role, regardless of Russell Wilson’s health.
However, after back-to-back losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, the mood seems to have shifted a bit. Fields wasn’t bad in either loss. Still, the offense as a whole just hasn’t been able to get the job done. That, combined with the fact that Wilson was a full participant in practice Wednesday, has made things a bit more complex.
With their 3-0 record quickly turning into a 3-2 mark, some are saying that the Steelers should shift to Wilson. One analyst who seems to hold that belief is NBC Sports’ Mike Florio. Florio appeared on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday, and gave a near-guarantee that Wilson would be the starter against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
“He fully participates today. He’s starting on Sunday,” Florio said. “It’s a very easy thing. We’re not benching Justin Fields, QB1 is healthy. And no offense to Fields, he goes back to the bench. Maybe they’ll have a Fields Package, I don’t know, but QB1 is back.”
Florio predicts that since Wilson is healthy enough to be a full participant in practice, he’ll end up starting this week. With Wilson finally recovering from his lingering calf injury, this prediction from Florio isn’t anything crazy. Wilson earned the starting role before the season began. In addition, head coach Mike Tomlin hasn’t said anything up until now to prove that Fields has earned the starting role just yet.
Fields hasn’t been bad this season. He’s completing his passes at a 67.6-percent rate and has thrown for 961 yards. He’s been able to take care of the ball with just one interception. Fields has also tossed five touchdown passes and owns a 97.1 passer rating. He’s done enough to win some games for Pittsburgh but has also led an offense that sometimes sputtered.
Florio makes a decent prediction here. After all, there’s not much one could use to argue against his near guarantee. Fields did a solid job in his absence, but Wilson is healthy now. Tomlin hasn’t said anything to point to Fields retaining his role, so it would make sense for Wilson to get the start this week.
However, it’s not necessarily a guarantee just yet. Earlier this week, it was reported that although Wilson is practicing again, Justin Fields is still getting reps with the first-team offense. Wilson has been playing with the second team. While Pittsburgh could certainly still give Wilson the nod this week, that does plant a small seed of doubt in Florio’s prediction.
