The Pittsburgh Steelers finally got around to using Justin Fields off the bench to maximize the talents of both of their dynamic quarterbacks. It started with three snaps against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday, and then seven snaps against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Steelers insider Gerry Dulac didn’t love the way that Fields was used off the bench, and thinks they trotted him out on the field one too many times.
“I had some bigger issues with other things in terms of personnel, in terms of predictability, and in terms of how much they use Justin Fields. I’m all for using the packages with him. I think they used him one too many plays,” Dulac said via KDKA’s Steelers Wrap Up on the team’s YouTube channel. “Why he’s in the game on third and four on that series that just was three and out and led to that bad punt at that point in time. You have Russell Wilson throwing heated darts in that snowstorm and leaving Justin Fields in on third and four to throw it deep down the field to George Pickens, which has no chance of being completed. I don’t understand that at all.”
Other than the 30-yard scramble by Fields up the right sideline, the package was a complete failure. He actually lined up for an eighth snap, but Darnell Washington had a false start. It’s impossible to say for sure, but the change in cadence between the two quarterbacks could potentially cause issues with players jumping early.
Here is a complete log of Fields’ snaps.
– False start (loss of five)
– Fields run (loss of two)
– Fields run (gain of 30)
– Fields run (loss of two)
– Incomplete pass (roughing the passer)
– Handoff (gain of three, TD)
– Handoff (gain of three)
– Incomplete pass (no gain)
Throwing out the penalties, that is netting 32 yards on seven plays, or just under 4.6 yards per play. Your average NFL offense is sitting at around 5.4 yards per play this year.
Beyond the raw output, it was situationally very bad for the Fields package. One of the negative runs was on fourth down for a turnover on downs, and then he had two of the most important plays of the game on the Steelers’ penultimate drive to attempt to put the game on ice. One was a three-yard handoff on 2nd and 7, and the next was a deep pass that was nowhere close to being complete.
The Steelers didn’t break the huddle until way late on their failed fourth down attempt. The communication didn’t seem clear. Even Russell Wilson, who said he fully supports the package plays for Fields, said he has no clue when they are coming throughout the game. The Steelers should have an actual plan each week for which specific situations they are going to put Fields in. If Wilson doesn’t even know, that tells me it is currently based on the whims of Arthur Smith and Mike Tomlin.
I am not sure how they landed on Fields getting two of the most important plays of the entire game, but it resulted in three yards on two plays and a punt—which ended up going just 15 yards—to give the Browns the go-ahead touchdown drive.
With Fields playing the first six weeks of the season, I figured they would have a pretty good idea how to best use him off the bench. Right now, it seems to be disorganized and poorly thought out. They need to figure it out fast, or I’m not sure it’s even worth using.
