Justin Fields had an odd game against the Dallas Cowboys. He wasn’t as accurate as he had been, and his receivers didn’t do him any favors either. He had a bizarre sequence where he was forced to leave the field after a huge hit. That led to Kyle Allen coming in at quarterback, and even though he only attempted one pass, he did a great job with it.
“Not surprised by anything that we get from Kyle Allen,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference via the team’s YouTube channel. “He’s uniquely positioned as a third quarterback, man. He’s uniquely experienced as a third quarterback in our room.
“Not surprised that he’s able to step in and complete a ball for us. I think the fact that we call[ed] that concept is reflective of our confidence in him, and his ability to throw it is reflective of his confidence in himself.”
Allen has been in the NFL since 2018, and he does have experience starting. He even started most of the year for the Carolina Panthers in 2019. He’s technically the third quarterback on the depth chart, but with Russell Wilson still dealing with an injury, he’s the next man up if anything happens to Fields as was the case Sunday night.
Allen came into the game near the beginning of the third quarter, getting to run two plays. The first was a run on first and 10. The second was a 19-yard completion to Pat Freiermuth in the middle of the field on second and five. It felt crazy to see the Steelers allow Allen the freedom to throw the ball there, but based on Tomlin’s words, it sounds like they weren’t worried about giving him a shot.
It was good that the officials made sure Fields was okay because the hit he took was brutal, but it was strange that the sequence took so long. Allen did get a lot of work with the Steelers during preseason and training camp, so the team’s level of comfort with him is probably higher than it normally would be for the third-string quarterback.
His play seemed to spark something as well. Fields immediately came in after that and led the Steelers to a touchdown. It wasn’t the cleanest drive in the world, but the Steelers battled through adversity. Allen almost helped them win that game.
Hopefully that’s the last time Allen has to go in during a game though. If he does ever go in again, hopefully it’s because the Steelers already have victory secured. His confidence and poise show that the Steelers could have worse options at quarterback if Fields and Wilson can’t play.
