The Pittsburgh Steelers went on the road Sunday and handled business in dominant fashion against the Las Vegas Raiders, rolling to a 32-13 win to move to 4-2 on the season.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak and helped the Steelers get back on track ahead of a Week 7 Sunday Night Football matchup against the New York Jets, who just traded for star receiver Davante Adams Tuesday morning.
With the two-game losing streak snapped via blowout, the Steelers bounced back in the power rankings ahead of Week 7, too.
In NFL.com’s power rankings compiled by Eric Edholm, the Steelers remain at No. 10 overall, while in The Athletic’s power rankings compiled by Josh Kendall, they moved up one spot from No. 15 to No. 14.
In CBS Sports’ power rankings from Pete Prisco, the Steelers moved up two spots from No. 13 to No. 11, while in ESPN’s power rankings, they climbed from No. 15 to No. 11, marking their biggest move-up of the week.
Prisco has been high on the Steelers since the start of the season after they impressed, jumping out to a 3-0 start after he expected them to be bad. Two tough weeks sank them a bit, but on Sunday against the Raiders, the Steelers got back on track thanks to the defense and some timely plays from Justin Fields and his legs.
“They won with defense and timely playmaking by Justin Fields against the Raiders — especially with his legs. He has to stay in as the starter,” Prisco writes of the Steelers.
While Fields has made his case to remain the starter, it appears that the Steelers might be eyeing a change at quarterback in a move to Russell Wilson. In his session with the media Tuesday, Mike Tomlin stated that Wilson is under consideration to start at quarterback Sunday against the Jets, giving New York something extra to prepare for.
Fields has had some issues in the passing game the last two weeks, struggling with accuracy and decision-making, but his work as a runner has changed the offense and really paid off against the Raiders on Sunday. He rushed for two touchdowns, helping take advantage of three forced turnovers by the Steelers defense and a blocked punt.
We’ll see what Tomlin decides at the end of the week, but it seems like right now, it will be Wilson.
In NFL.com’s power rankings, Edholm wrote about the Steelers’ looming quarterback decision, especially after Fields struggled as a passer. However, Edholm kept the Steelers right at No. 10 for the third straight week.
“You can’t say that Justin Fields played a pristine game Sunday, with the shadow of Russell Wilson growing larger by the day now that the veteran’s been cleared to play. It’s hard to gripe too much about a 19-point road win, even against a shorthanded opponent, and it should be noted that Fields ran for two scores and didn’t turn the ball over,” Edholm writes of Fields and the Steelers. “That said, he had a would-be INT called back on a roughing-the-passer penalty, went cold in the middle 30 minutes of the game, and didn’t always handle pressure effectively.
“Najee Harris and Fields did enough to grind away at the Raiders on the ground, and the Steelers defense took care of the rest. But with each so-so performance by Fields — even as Pittsburgh keeps winning — the questions about a QB switch will hang in the air.”
While Fields didn’t officially turn the ball over, his interception, which was called off due to roughing the passer, was rather ugly and looked like a Chicago Fields mistake, which was concerning. He struggled with accuracy, didn’t see the field all that well at times, and really didn’t appear comfortable much of the day in the pocket.
But, again, the legs and the ability to run and make plays are game-changing. That’s been the case a few times this season, helping the Steelers win games. The inconsistency as a passer is why questions are popping up, though, and could lead to a change at quarterback.
In ESPN’s power rankings, the Steelers climbed four spots to No. 11, and in the power rankings, ESPN’s Steelers reporter Brooke Pryor writes that the offensive identity is a work in progress for the Steelers after the win over the Raiders.
“By hiring OC Arthur Smith in the offseason, the Steelers appeared to signal they wanted to be a ground-and-pound team. But before the Week 6 win over Las Vegas, the offense didn’t consistently move the ball on the ground. Najee Harris’ 106 rushing yards Sunday — part of a season-best 183 team total — could mean the beginning of a running renaissance,” Pryor writes of the Steelers’ offensive identity. “Or the tide could turn if coach Mike Tomlin opts to replace QB Justin Fields with a now-healthy Russell Wilson to jump-start the passing game, which ranks 28th with 166.8 yards per game. Still, the team’s offensive identity is yet to be revealed through six games.”
It’s been an up-and-down performance from the Steelers’ offense on the season.
They’ve sometimes looked good running the ball but had some issues in other games. They’ve had some success in the passing game, too, but it’s been a major slog trying to move the ball through the air in recent weeks.
It’s still very early in Arthur Smith’s tenure. Adjustments take time. The number of injuries the Steelers have had to deal with on offense hasn’t helped that transition, either.
But for one week at least, particularly in the run game, things looked as good as they ever have for the Steelers under Smith, creating some hope that things will start clicking offensively.
Now, there could be a QB change, which would throw a wrench into things.
Finally, in The Athletic’s power rankings, the Steelers moved up one spot to No. 14 overall, and Josh Kendall highlighted the one big question: Would the Steelers start Russell Wilson?
Well, it seems like we’re getting close to that answer.
“Justin Fields has been an average quarterback this season, and there has not been much evidence of late that Wilson can reach that level,” Kendall writes regarding the Steelers. “Fields is 17th in the league in EPA per dropback (.04). That’s the best mark of his four-year career, and the first time he’s been in positive numbers, and he’s thrown only one interception (versus five touchdown passes).
“On top of that, he’s basically half of the Steelers’ run game with 231 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. At age 35, Wilson can no longer provide that.”
Fields has been just that: average. That’s as a passer. He’s done what’s been asked of him, give or take. Yes, as was pointed out earlier, he’s missed some throws and missed some looks, and he hasn’t really produced in the passing game in recent weeks. But he’s doing the one thing asked of him: avoiding the turnovers.
Add in his abilities as a runner, and it’s clear why the Steelers have had some success offensively. It’s just not consistent enough, which might have opened the door for a change to Wilson.
It’s the biggest question looming for the Steelers right now. We’ll get an answer later in the week.
