Once Nick Herbig and Joey Porter Jr. teamed up to shut down Lamar Jackson’s two-point conversion attempt with just over a minute left in the game, it seemed pretty certain that the Pittsburgh Steelers would win. But three timeouts and one of the best field goal kickers in NFL history gave the Baltimore Ravens a small chance if they could force a three-and-out. The Steelers turned to Justin Fields to help ice the game and extend their recent dominance of the Ravens.
On 2nd and 11, Fields came in and perfectly executed a read option to pull the ball and run for the first down. Only he didn’t get the first down because he slid about a yard short of the sticks. When a quarterback slides, the ball is marked down from the exact spot that they give themselves up.
That left a 3rd and 1 for the Steelers and one final heart attack for the fan base. Fortunately, they converted by running the same play again with a handoff to Najee Harris instead of Fields pulling it and running himself.
Fields says he wishes he would have done things differently on that play.
“I thought I had it,” Fields said in a video posted on Post-Gazette Sports’ YouTube. “Me and Russ [Wilson] were just talking about that. The rule’s kind of, it’s whatever, but if I got to do it all over again, I probably take a hit on that one. Of course, I don’t like taking hits when I don’t have to, but of course I did have to. I thought I had the first down, but of course it’s just where you start the slide. So if I had to do it all over again, I would probably just put one shoulder down and get the first down.”
Wilson briefly discussed after the game how he dislikes that rule. I get where they are coming from, but the quarterbacks already get so many protections that make defenders’ lives difficult.
This would have been a much bigger talking point had the Steelers failed to convert and given Jackson and Tucker one final chance to win the game.
“I was just glad that we got the first down after that,” Fields said. “I would’ve been sick if we didn’t.”
Sunday marked Fields’ first time playing since he was replaced by Wilson in the starting lineup five weeks ago. The long-awaited package of plays for Fields finally debuted with three total snaps on offense. He rushed the ball twice for 17 yards and handed it off once to seal victory after his slide mishap.
Teams were already well aware that they had to prepare for Fields, but that focus is now likely renewed. That presents a whole new challenge for a team like the Cleveland Browns on a short week ahead of Thursday Night Football.
In a similar situation next time, I think Fields will err on the side of caution and just lower his shoulder for the extra yard or two.
