While Russell Wilson played the vast majority of the game Thursday night in Cleveland, the Steelers played Justin Fields for six snaps. Two of those snaps produced a 30-yard run and a touchdown albeit the latter on a handoff to Jaylen Warren. The Steelers didn’t leave Wilson out there when Fields came into the game, but that’s okay. Wilson only has one priority whether he’s on the field or on the sideline.
“Whenever it does, all I want us to do is win,” Wilson said about when the Steelers use the Justin Fields package, via the team’s website. “That’s all I care about, is whatever it takes for us to win. Obviously, when Justin gets in there, I’m rooting for him to do great and make a big play or whatever it may be. And then when I go back in there, vice versa. We’re always rooting for each other, so I don’t think of it that way.”
While Russell Wilson might be chronically positive, his relationship with Justin Fields is genuine. Recently, he talked about how the two talked about potentially playing together with the Steelers before Pittsburgh traded for Fields. He may not have envisioned them playing in the same game, but at least being on the same roster.
The appreciation the Steelers’ quarterbacks have for one another passes the smell test. Russell Wilson admitted after the Steelers’ loss to the Browns that the competitor in him doesn’t want to come off the field, but he will be the first to celebrate if Justin Fields makes a big play when he’s on the sideline watching it happen.
Since unveiling the Justin Fields package, Fields has rushed for 43 yards and attempted one pass. He also picked up a roughing the passer call, which was critical to one of the Steelers’ touchdown drives. But how many snaps will he take from Russell Wilson going forward?
After all, now that the cat’s out of the bag, the Steelers have time to tinker. Playing on a short week Thursday, they didn’t have time to adjust much from last Sunday’s usage of Fields. Perhaps that’s partly why they did it on a short week, too—to make the Browns scramble while focusing on Wilson.
The Steelers definitely were more adventurous with their usage of Justin Fields against the Browns, including a stretch of multiple snaps in which he remained in the game. They also took Wilson off the field in the red zone, leading to the Warren touchdown off a handoff from Fields.
That doesn’t mean we’re suddenly going to see a Taysom Hill-like offense in Pittsburgh. Arthur Smith claims he has two starting quarterbacks with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, but the Steelers can’t operate with two. Wilson is the starter until he’s not. And if that should happen, he’ll have plenty of time to cheer Fields on from the sideline.
