Week 4 was not the game the Pittsburgh Steelers expected to play. They didn’t play their brand of football, falling behind early and forcing Justin Fields to try to win the game. He did a pretty good job, too. Fields got the Steelers back in that game, although he couldn’t ultimately seal the deal. Commentator Cris Collinsworth wants to see if Fields’ level of play was for real or if it was just a byproduct of the circumstances.
“I think what we saw out of Justin Fields was probably enough, even if Russell [Wilson] is right and ready to go this week, to where you go, I wanna see one more of those,” Collinsworth said Tuesday on The Rich Eisen Show. “I wanna see him again, now in a big game at home [on] national television, the Dallas Cowboys.
“Was that just a, in case of emergency, break glass and let him throw the ball around, and it’s gonna be okay? Or was that Justin Fields taking a step in a positive direction to where now the trust level goes up in a 7-3 game, we’re gonna let him drop back and throw the ball a little bit.”
That’s a fair take from Collinsworth, who will be on the call when the Steelers play the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5. Fields had shown moments of brilliance when passing the ball before, but Week 4 was a more complete game. The entire offense struggled early on, but once the Steelers let Fields loose, he was dynamic.
He threw for over 300 yards and one touchdown against the Colts, adding two rushing touchdowns as well. He was electric, making several huge throws to George Pickens. It almost looked like the Steelers would complete the comeback, but a bad snap ruined their day.
It’s clear that isn’t how the Steelers want to play on offense, either. Through the first three weeks of the season, they showed a commitment to the running game. They want to be a run-heavy team, controlling the clock and doing just enough passing the ball to get by. They don’t want Fields to be forced to play hero.
However, in today’s league, it’s important to know that your quarterback can drive you down the field to win the game. If Fields can bail the Steelers out when they’re playing poorly, they’ll probably feel much more comfortable in any game. The lights are going to be bright for Fields this week, so we’ll see what he can do in primetime. Collinsworth might just get his wish.
