Former Steelers Defender Questions If Arthur Smith Fully Trusts Justin Fields Throwing The Ball

The Pittsburgh Steelers are planning to stick with Justin Fields (for now) at quarterback, while Russell Wilson continues to deal with his unfortunate calf injury. Fields, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, will start the next two games for Pittsburgh, giving him some more time to prove himself worthy as the starter moving forward. Fields already has one game under his belt as the starter, as he and the Steelers took down the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 by a score of 18-10. 

Not only was it Fields' first game in the black and gold, but Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith, who was hired in the 2023 offseason, now has a taste of Steelers football. Smith, who last coached for the Falcons, got his revenge victory in Atlanta despite not crossing the goal line. Fields had a quarterback rating of 91.9, which led all AFC North signal-callers in Week 1. Of all 17 pass completions from Fields, not a single one came across the middle of the field. 

Smith told reporters later on that it was Pittsburgh's intentions to avoid the middle of the field; that way, Falcons safety Jessie Bates wouldn't make a game-changing play. However, former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden suspects that maybe Smith doesn't entirely trust Fields' ability to throw the ball across the field. McFadden was on Pittsburgh's 93.7 The Fan on Friday, and the crew asked for his thoughts on Smith's comments about avoiding Bates. 

"I think two things can be true," McFadden told the show. "I do believe he felt that high regards in terms of Jessie Bates. But, I also do believe he felt like he didn't want to put his quarterback in harm's way and allowing that area of the football field to be available in the passing game. When it comes to the trust factor and believing in your quarterback to do what he needs to do when targeting the middle of the football field, maybe the trust factor wasn't all the way there for Coach Arthur in terms of Justin being smart with the football." 

Fields kept the ball out of harm's way and didn't turn the ball over a single time, which led them to victory. He was mostly accurate when he needed to be, but the lack of throws across the middle was puzzling. Fields was asked about this and told reporters that maybe they would attack the middle this week against the Denver Broncos, but didn't want to give away their game plan. 

If the Steelers continue to target receivers on the outside, then it will become clearly evident that they don't trust Fields entirely. To their defense, the goal is to win the turnover battle and play shut down opponents. They can play conservative for now while it's early in the season, but at some point, things are going to have to open up, whether it's Fields or Wilson at the helm. 

Steelers' Focus Is On Success With Running The Ball 

While many teams in the NFL are still struggling to find their identities early in the season, the Steelers know how they want to attack opposing defenses. It starts with running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren getting the rushing attack going, which will make things a whole lot easier for Fields or whoever is playing quarterback. 

Even though the rushing performance wasn't dominant, the Steelers still took care of business on the ground in their first week. Warren was limited on snaps, so it was mostly Harris and Fields taking the carries which resulted in a combined 127 yards. 

As Fields continues to get more comfortable in the offense, Harris' role will be pivotal. The Broncos gave up nearly 150 rushing yards last week, so watch out for a big week for Harris and the rest. Do you think Smith and the Steelers trust Fields' throwing ability? Let us know below.