During Week 5, Justin Fields had an opportunity to take a firm hold of the starting quarterback job for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They had a primetime game against the Dallas Cowboys, who were also missing some of their best defenders. Fields didn’t have an awful game, but it was not a great performance. That, coupled with back-to-back losses for the Steelers, has left the door open for Russell Wilson to reclaim the starting job. Ben Roethlisberger believes it’s still a little early to put Fields on the bench.
“I don’t think it’s time to pull the plug on Justin [Fields],” Roethlisberger said Monday on his podcast, Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger. “Did he have a great game? No. Did he have a bad game? No. Did he miss some things? Sure. But there were also some balls that were dropped.
“There were some protection issues. There are other things that were wrong with the offense besides Justin Fields. If you asked me right now, what do I think is gonna happen this week? I would say stick with [Fields].”
Roethlisberger’s approach feels like the right call. His judgment of Fields’ level of play against the Cowboys is spot on. Fields did miss some open receivers and had a few bad plays, but he wasn’t the reason the Steelers lost. The Steelers’ offense had bigger problems than him.
Fields made a few nice throws, but they were also dropped. His receivers weren’t doing him any favors. In fact, the leading receiver for the Steelers ended up being Najee Harris. This might be surprising, but that’s not good.
George Pickens, who is supposed to be the number one threat for the Steelers through the air, had an uncharacteristically bad game, too. He dropped one crucial pass and seemed frustrated throughout the night. That carried into the last play of the game, where Pickens yanked a Cowboys player down by his face mask. For the person who is supposed to be their leader in the receiver room, that’s a rough look.
It sounds like Wilson has a real shot to play this week. These two losses aren’t on Fields, but with the offense playing as poorly as it has been, the Steelers might feel like they need to make a change. Wilson might make a few better reads throwing the ball, but the Steelers will also lose the threat of Fields’ legs, which has been one of their greatest weapons.
We’ll see what Mike Tomlin and company end up doing. They’ll likely make the decision they believe can win them more games. Even if Wilson is inserted back into the starting lineup, that doesn’t mean Fields’ season is over. He can always earn the job back. If he does, though, hopefully, the Steelers can give him more support than they’re providing right now.
