If the Pittsburgh Steelers are burning the boats and pulling out all the stops to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in tomorrow night’s playoff game, using QB Justin Fields figures to be part of the equation. Injured and hardly used when available, the team seems open to deploying Fields to boost the run game by utilizing all if its talent to jump-start a lifeless-looking offense. But former NFL QB EJ Manuel brings a different perspective, weighing in on how a quarterback rotation impacts a starter like Russell Wilson.
“I would like to see Justin Fields,” Manuel said on ESPN’s Get Up Friday. “But I don’t wanna see him in packages because based off the conversation we had yesterday’s show and Dan [Orlovsky] was saying maybe put Justin Fields in on first down. I’m cool with that. But keep him in. Because then you kill the rhythm of either Justin Fields if he’s gonna be your guy. And you certainly kill the rhythm of Russell Wilson. If I’m Russell Wilson, I hate that decision.”
For context, Dan Orlovsky pointed, as we did earlier this week, the Steelers’ terrible production on first down. Numbers that have gotten worse under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith compared to the latter half of the Matt Canada era. Using Fields could breathe life into an early-down running game that’s one of the least efficient in football and will be pitted against the No. 1 run defense in football tomorrow night.
Manuel would take it further. Deploy Fields and keep him on the field. Manuel doesn’t outline how long of a series he’d keep Fields in for but something more than one snap, the situational and circumstantial reps that many think of when discussing how to get Fields on the grass.
Based on our charting, that’s largely what Pittsburgh has done. Since being replaced as Steelers’ starter, Fields has had a max of three-straight snaps, coming in their Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns. More often, the Steelers bring him out for a play and remove him, something that’s occurred seven times this year.
Wilson, to his credit, has shown no public issue with that plan. Of course, it’s hardly impacted him considering how little Fields has played. In part due to missing three games with injury and partially due to Pittsburgh’s reluctance to use Fields. It comes with its own trappings the team has stumbled through. Getting the play call in on time, the offense being on the same page, Fields staying loose and fresh, especially in cold-weather games. But with Pittsburgh wilting, gluing Fields to the sidelines would be a classic case of Steelers’ stubbornness.
“I would expect maybe you get a spark with Justin Fields have some runs,” Manuel said. “But ultimately if you do put him in the game, let him play. Let him figure it out.”
A fair take from Manuel. The question is if Fields stays in and succeeds, how quickly things could change from him being viewed situationally versus replacing Wilson mid-game. Perhaps such speculation is what is holding Pittsburgh back. But given everything on the line this weekend, the Steelers can’t be concerned with those storylines. Only what will lead them to victory.
