Justin Fields is giving way to Russell Wilson this weekend, but it doesn’t mean he’ll spend all of Sunday night holding a clipboard. Just as the conversation was focused ahead of Week 1, it’s sensible for the Pittsburgh Steelers to use Fields’ rushing ability in a package of plays. But if that is the team’s plan, Arthur Smith isn’t telling.
Asked if the offense plans on having a Fields package for the Jets game, Smith said no one on the outside will know until kickoff.
“Now you’re talking about strategy,” Smith said Thursday via a team-provided transcript. “Whatever decision Mike [Tomlin] makes, we’ll let the Jets figure that out Sunday night. I appreciate the question. I really do. I joke, but it’s real. It’s not just smart strategy. I understand the fans want to know, and that’s why you ask the questions. Let them figure that out Sunday night.”
Smith’s answer mirrors what he said late in the summer and in the lead up to Week 1 when Wilson was declared the starter until his Thursday calf injury three days ahead of the Atlanta Falcons game. At the time, there was strong belief Pittsburgh would find ways to get Fields on the grass. Given the asset his mobility has been in six games as starter, there’s even more evidence and reason to use him in that way.
The better question is how often and when Fields gets used. Situational football makes sense. Third and short, goal to go, all the expected moments when a rushing quarterback adds an extra layer defenses must defend. Would Pittsburgh go beyond that? Would they work Fields in for an entire series? If the offense needs a spark, would they use Fields for the first play of a drive? Could it become a complementary piece to the run game should the traditional backs struggle?
For Pittsburgh, this isn’t theory. It’s been practiced. On the season, Fields has run the ball on designed plays 31 times, 5.2 per game. Over the course of a season, that’s 90 rushing attempts. To put that in perspective, that would be more rushes than Jaylen Warren had as a rookie and more than Jets lead back Breece Hall has through six games. Pittsburgh’s had success, Fields the team’s leading scorer with five rushing touchdowns, the most by a Steelers quarterback since Kordell Stewart in 2001.
Like everything else a coach has to manage, this will be a balancing act. When to call it, when not to, how to keep the Jets off-kilter without disrupting Wilson’s flow. There are plays for Fields but there’s no exact playbook telling Smith how to juggle it all.
