The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for Justin Fields to once again start at quarterback this week, when the team faces the Denver Broncos, coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday.
“As we sit here today, we’re preparing as if Justin is our quarterback,” Tomlin said.
Fields started the season opener, an 18-10 win against the Atlanta Falcons, after the Steelers scratched Russell Wilson hours before kickoff due to a nagging calf injury.
Tomlin said they’ll monitor Wilson’s status this week and he’s scheduled to be a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. He added the team will “be analyzing whether (Wilson is) capable of protecting himself, whether he’s capable of being productive.”
Justin Fields’ time as QB1 of the Steelers will continue…
Or at least, Pittsburgh is preparing for that scenario.
H/T @MikeDeFabo pic.twitter.com/jCiAKojP1w
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 10, 2024
Wilson initially injured his calf on July 24 when he was pushing a sled during the team’s conditioning test. The injury limited the 35 year old during the first two weeks of training camp and forced him to miss the first preseason game.
Last Thursday, he aggravated the calf during a routes-on-air segment of practice. He left practice and was listed as a limited participant.
Wilson was in uniform Sunday and served as Pittsburgh’s emergency third quarterback. Kyle Allen was the backup.
Fields completed 17 of 23 passes for 156 yards and also rushed for 57 yards on 14 attempts against the Falcons.
Why Steelers are naming Fields QB now
The Steelers left Fields in limbo last week, waiting until almost game time to announce him as the starter. While there may have been a bit of gamesmanship at play there, it’s not the best situation to leave your starting quarterback waiting until the last minute.
By tabbing Fields the starter now, he can fully prepare mentally as the starter. Additionally, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith can devise a game plan to focuses more extensively on the mobile quarterback’s skillset, instead of trying to craft one that protects an injured 35 year old.
That may be the biggest benefit as Pittsburgh prepares for a Broncos defense that will throw a lot of different looks in its direction. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers writer
What this means long term
The short answer is, we don’t know. While Wilson appears unlikely to play, Tomlin was asked if the veteran quarterback will start if he’s healthy Sunday.
“That’s a big if,” the coach answered.
Later, he was asked if Wilson will reclaim his status as QB1 once he’s fully recovered from the calf injury. Again he somewhat sidestepped the question.
“I’m not going to soothe you with hypothetical scenarios,” Tomlin said.
Consider Fields had an opportunity in training camp to re-shape the quarterback dynamic. When Wilson went down and missed the first preseason game, Fields got the full benefit of the first-team reps and the starting job in the preseason. However, he was not able to do enough in those settings to fundamentally change this discussion.
The same can probably be said for Sunday’s performance. Fields did enough to manage a conservative game plan that featured plenty of short, rhythm passes toward the sideline and a handful of timely deep balls. He also added an dynamic threat with his feet.
Yet, the offense still failed to score a single touchdown, so it’s not like Fields clearly proved he should supplant Wilson. It seems the Steelers aren’t resistant to the pecking order changing, but Fields will need to prove he should keep the job full-time before he’s handed anything.
Pittsburgh doesn’t need to make any public declarations or internal decisions until Wilson is 100 percent. Why say anything now when Wilson is still dealing with an injury? — DeFabo
What Fields starting would mean for Denver
The move to hold Wilson out would leave the Denver fan base — and the NFL schedule-makers who tried to ensure this matchup would happen before Wilson had a chance to be benched — a bit deflated. Everyone loves a revenge game, and a sold-out crowd would have been eager to “welcome” Wilson back in whatever way they saw fit.
As for the Broncos themselves, they have too much to worry about after a season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks to be overly concerned with what the Steelers’ depth chart looks like. They certainly would have a good feel for how to attack Wilson if he does become the starter, having faced him in practice and studied his game tape extensively the last two years.
But Denver also faced Fields last October when he was with the Chicago Bears, a 31-28 victory for the Broncos on the road in Week 4. Fields dominated in the first half, but two big turnovers by the quarterback — a strip-sack fumble returned for a touchdown and a final-minute interception — turned the game in Denver’s favor.
The much bigger focus for the Broncos will be how they better support their own quarterback, rookie Bo Nix, after his rough debut in Seattle. But there’s no doubt that for many of those outside the team’s locker room, not seeing Denver facing Wilson would be a disappointment. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos writer
Required reading
(Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
