The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a 32-13 Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and while QB Justin Fields didn’t have the best game throwing the football, former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger thinks he did enough to maintain the starting job. On the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger was impressed with Fields’ ability to extend plays and said that Russell Wilson will give you more pocket presence but won’t be able to do as much with his legs.
“I think he’s doing enough. You saw with his legs especially, making things happen, creating. And not necessarily this time wasn’t designed quarterback runs. It was him extending a play, stepping up in the pocket, and just keeping the play alive…I just think what you’re gonna get from Russ is more pocket presence to throw the ball down the field, but you’re not gonna get that extend the play like Justin does because he’s a running back out there when he decides to run.”
Roethlisberger further clarified that he feels making a quarterback change now could hurt Fields’ confidence, and if the Steelers did make the change, they’d have to be confident that Wilson would be the guy for the rest of the season.
“I think so,” Roethlisberger said when asked directly if Fields has done enough to remain as Pittsburgh’s quarterback. “Where I think you have to be careful is, if you make that change or that switch, you’re basically gonna take his confidence and you’re gonna shoot his confidence down. So then what happens if Russ gets hurt,” Roethlisberger added. “If he happens to get hurt, now you’re asking your quarterback that you just, in a sense, benched to come back in now…If you’re gonna do it, you better be super certain you’re gonna stay with that guy the rest of the season. Because just going back and forth that’s not a good look. That’s not something you want to keep doing. It’s just not good for confidence. It’s not good for the team.”
Roethlisberger continued and said that unless Fields goes on a run of bad games, he should remain the starter all year.
The confidence factor in Fields is definitely something to consider, especially if the Steelers want to keep him around as a long-term option at quarterback. While both Fields and Wilson are on one-year deals, Fields is just 25 and could conceivably be Pittsburgh’s quarterback of the future. The fact that the team is 4-2 with him right now proves that they can win with him under center, and he can obviously continue to develop further as he gets more comfortable with Pittsburgh’s system.
Wilson is fully healthy now, so Mike Tomlin will need to make a decision this week, and we’ll likely find out tomorrow who will start against the Jets on Sunday. Roethlisberger floated the possibility of Wilson’s calf injury potentially returning. While that’s possible, the Steelers were very cautious with him after he re-aggravated the injury. It shouldn’t be something that is a determining factor when Tomlin does make his decision on who will start in Week 7.
But flip-flopping back and forth between quarterbacks won’t be good for the team, and that’s Roethlisberger’s main point. If the Steelers do turn to Wilson, and he struggles, and they decide to go back to Fields, they’ll be going back to a quarterback they essentially benched in favor of Wilson. That could certainly hurt his confidence and make him play differently if they do go back to him.
It’s all hypothetical until Tomlin decides, but Fields has shown some traits and flashed enough that he’s worthy of starting the rest of the season. It will be a difficult decision for Tomlin, but I’m with Roethlisberger in thinking Fields has done enough and should keep the job unless things really go awry.
While the last two games have been worse than the first four, there’s been enough positive in Fields’ play, and the Steelers have proved they can win with him under center. We’ll likely find out tomorrow what direction the Steelers will take at quarterback, and it’s a decision that’ll have major implications for the rest of the season, so it’s paramount that Tomlin gets it right.
