The last two weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers have employed their packages for QB Justin Fields, having him replace QB Russell Wilson to help utilize his legs. He also had an official passing attempt, coming late in the fourth quarter on a third down intended for WR George Pickens. Despite Fields replacing Russell Wilson, who’s the starter and plays the majority of snaps, WR Calvin Austin III said there’s no adjustment when Fields, who led the Steelers to a 4-2 record before giving way Wilson, enters the game
“Just because we’re used to hearing his voice and hearing him in the huddle. We did it so much through camp, beginning of the season. I feel like the biggest thing when a new quarterback comes in, it’s a different voice, a different person in the huddle. But we’ve been so used to hearing Justin’s voice, that when you come in the huddle, it’s not like, ‘Oh, Justin’s in.’ It’s pretty, at this point I would say normal. And we know what element he can bring to the game and to our offense,” Austin said via Chris Adamski of TribLive
Adjusting to a different voice or a different style of play with a new quarterback entering midgame is usually a challenge for an offense. But even with Fields more mobile than Wilson, he’s someone the team got used to playing with throughout training camp and the early parts of the season. Wilson missed multiple weeks in training camp with his calf injury, which gave Fields more run than usual with the starters. That continued with Fields starting the season after Wilson re-aggravated his calf injury.
The offense has played together more with Fields than it has with Wilson, so it’s not surprising to hear that his teammates are able to adjust as needed with him in the game. With Fields’ ability to use his legs giving the Steelers another tool on offense, it’s a package the Steelers will likely look to continue to utilize. It’s obviously a positive that the offense seemingly has full confidence in playing up to the same standard with both quarterbacks.
What will be interesting to watch going forward is if Fields’ usage grows, especially if the offense continues to struggle. The last two games, Pittsburgh has only scored two touchdowns, both coming in Week 12, as Russell Wilson has cooled off from his impressive start with the Steelers. While some of the offensive struggles when it comes to throwing the ball could be attributed to the weather in Week 12 against Cleveland if the offense can’t turn things around, Fields might be deployed more often. While it’s unlikely to happen, CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala floated the idea Tuesday of Fields taking back over as Pittsburgh’s starter, and increased usage could lead to that happening if he plays well.
But both Wilson and Fields can coexist in the offense as we’ve seen over the last two weeks, and the Steelers seem confident that they can continue to make things work with both.
