We can debate endlessly who will be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback in 2025. But until they sign, trade for, or draft someone, it will certainly just be a debate. This post isn’t necessarily advocating for the Steelers to re-sign Justin Fields. It’s looking at what offensive coordinator Arthur Smith could (and arguably should) do differently to support Fields and the offense in 2025.
There are two main truths at play here: First, Justin Fields was 4-2 as a starter while posting a career-high 65.8 completion percentage. He did show marked improvement from his time in Chicago. Second, the offense wasn’t anywhere near explosive enough or generating enough points to compete with the best teams in the AFC.
And, as there are two main truths at play, there are two main areas where the Steelers could leverage in 2025 to help Justin Fields and the offense as a whole improve.
Take More Shots Deep
When head coach Mike Tomlin decided to switch to QB Russell Wilson in Week 7, there was a noticeable change in the Steelers’ offense. Among the 46 quarterbacks who attempted at least 100 passes in 2024, Fields attempted a pass 20-plus yards in the air 19 times. That ranks seventh-lowest among the qualifying quarterbacks. But we know he only started six games. For a better understanding, he attempted a 20-plus yard pass on 11.7 percent of his passing attempts in 2024. That ranked 22nd in the league.
For comparison, Russell Wilson attempted 50 passes that traveled 20-plus yards in the air, which was tied for 18th-most among qualifiers. Percentage-wise, he attempted a deep pass on 13.7 percent of his throws, which tied for 11th-highest in the league. Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson led the league in the percentage of passes thrown 20-plus yards in the air at 18.9 percent.
So, we definitely saw an uptick in deep passing attempts on a per-throw basis after the switch. But was that because Fields was a bad deep thrower?
No. In 2024, Fields had a Pro Football Focus grade (subjective, I know) of 81.7 when throwing the ball 20-plus yards in the air. That was 21st out of 46 qualifying quarterbacks. That’s among the top half of the league. And Fields grading well when going deep isn’t anything new, either.
In 2023, PFF gave Fields a 96.7 grade on passes 20-plus yards in the air. That was the fifth-highest among quarterbacks who attempted at least 10 passes that far downfield. He also ranked seventh among those quarterbacks with deep passes thrown on 14.1 percent of all his passing attempts. Fields ranked lower in 2022, coming in at 24th with a grade of 84.0. He was tied for seventh in the league at 16 percent of all his passes, traveling at least 20 yards.
So, according to Pro Football Focus, Fields is an above-average deep passer. He may not have the pretty moonball that Wilson showcased in 2024, but he can certainly throw the ball down the field well.
EZ view of Justin Fields deep to George Pickens 😍 #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/VWpWVIyipz
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) October 1, 2024
The Steelers were willing to take more shots deep with Russell Wilson as the starter. If he’s back, they should be willing to do the same with Justin Fields in 2025.
Better On Play Action
The second area lines up nicely with the first. We knew the Steelers would utilize play-action passing concepts more under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. It would have been quite hard for those numbers not to go up, as shown by Clayton Eckert’s study of the 2023 numbers.
But if the Steelers bring Justin Fields back, Arthur Smith should be more aggressive with his play-action usage. In 2024, Fields averaged 5.1 yards per attempt on play action. That was almost two full yards below his season average of 6.9. His average depth of target (ADOT) was 4.9 yards. That was well below his season average of 7.7.
Those numbers are quite conservative, especially compared to Fields’ numbers in his last two seasons in Chicago. In 2023, Fields averaged 8.9 yards per attempt on play action with an ADOT of 11.9 yards. In 2022, the numbers were slightly lower but still way above 2024. Fields averaged 7.9 yards per attempt on play action with an ADOT of 11.1 yards.
When Dave Bryan did a deeper dive into Fields’ (and Wilson’s) play-action numbers in 2022 and 2023, a few things stood out. However, one of the biggest takeaways is that Fields averaged higher net yards per attempt at play action. He also had a better quarterback rating.
Yet, in 2024, it was completely flipped. Fields had a rating of 75.7 on play-action, 40th out of 44 quarterbacks. He had a rating of 99.5 on his non-play-action passing attempts, fourth-best in the league. Arthur Smith needs to figure out how to get Fields back to playing well on play-action attempts because Fields has shown he can succeed.
Final Thoughts
There are certainly areas in which Justin Fields showed progress during the 2024 season. He posted his best completion percentage of his career and did not throw many interceptions. He also showed he’s still a threat on the ground with five rushing touchdowns in six starts.
However, the Steelers kept a tight lid on Fields as a passer, as shown by the lack of deep shots across the board and limited passing attempts in general. Head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith used Fields as a game manager.
If the Steelers re-sign Justin Fields, that will need to change if they want to push for the playoffs in 2025. And they do have a bit of an idea of how to do it. Back in Week 3, the Steelers hosted the Los Angeles Chargers. Fields attempted 32 passes in that game, completing a season-high 78.1 percent of his passes. There’s proof that the Steelers can let Justin Fields play quarterback under Arthur Smith. Now, they need to lean into it and embrace more of the skills Fields has shown in terms of the deep ball and play-action.
