While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Justin Fields of the Pittsburgh Steelers sounded like a quarterback who had already been benched in favor of veteran Russell Wilson for this weekend’s upcoming “Sunday Night Football” home game against the 2-4 New York Jets.
During a Thursday appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Steelers insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explained why head coach Mike Tomlin would make such a move after Fields guided Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record as Wilson recovered from a lingering calf injury.
“It was always going to be this way,” Dulac said, as shared by Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. “I’m just a little surprised that they’re doing it right now. But they felt there are deficiencies in their passing game. They didn’t want Justin Fields throwing in the middle of the field. He’s not allowed to audible.”
It became clear even before training-camp practices got underway that Tomlin wanted to start Wilson over Fields, with the 35-year-old winning what may or may not have been a legitimate competition for the QB1 job before he was hobbled by his calf issue ahead of Week 1. Fields then notched victories across four of six starts but, in his own words, didn’t play “well enough” to remain in the lineup in place of a healthy Wilson.
According to ESPN stats, the Steelers enter Week 7 ranked 28th in the NFL with an average of 166.8 passing yards per game and 20th in points per contest with 20.7. Fair or not, Tomlin seemingly believes Wilson can get more out of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s unit than Fields.
“We shall see how this will all play out,” Dulac continued. “But this was all part of their plan that they spent months discussing. So, they weren’t going to let six weeks change their mind or change their plan.”
Fields probably could’ve altered the plan had he produced stellar passing numbers over the season’s first six weeks. Instead, Pro Football Reference shows he began Thursday ranked 20th in the league among qualified players with a 54.0 adjusted QBR and 23rd with a 43.2% passing success rate.
As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Steelers as two-point underdogs against the Jets. Perhaps that line shows what the betting world thinks about Wilson getting his first start of the season at Acrisure Stadium in front of a prime-time television audience.
