Starting Justin Fields wasn’t Mike Tomlin’s initial plan, but it now needs to be what the Steelers keep doing moving forward. As the Steelers sit at 3-0 following a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Tomlin needs to end any speculation and officially name Fields his QB1 independent of Russell Wilson’s health.
On Sunday, Fields completed 25-of-32 passes for 245 yards and scored two touchdowns — one through the air and one on the ground. Through three games, Fields has completed 73.3 percent of his passes and thrown for 518 passing yards. He’s also shown clear progress every week.
Fields showed chemistry with Calvin Austin III against the Chargers, showing the possibility for the Steelers to develop some wide receiver depth behind George Pickens. Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith even eventually let Fields pull the trigger on a deep ball, connecting with Austin for 55 yards on the play. Austin made four receptions for 95 yards on the day.
Replacing Fields now would risk disturbing the chemistry the offense is slowly building early in the season. Aside from one pick on Sunday, Fields has also been smart and careful with the football.
The potential for any reward with Wilson isn’t worth the risk. While some could argue the Steelers are mostly winning due to their defense, Fields is giving a team built like Pittsburgh exactly what it needs — a game manager.
Calling a quarterback a “game manager” is often viewed as a negative, but a team with a defense that’s only allowed 26 total points through three games doesn’t require more than managing the game from a quarterback. It’s even possible the Steelers continue to open up the playbook as Fields keeps getting more comfortable each week.
Wilson was better in 2023 with Denver than some give him credit for — he threw for 3,070 yards with a 66.4 completion percentage and threw 28 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. But unfortunately for Wilson, a calf injury opened the door for Fields to take his job, and he has.
Christopher Carter of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and “Locked On Steelers” recently argued that Wilson is destined to take over for Fields when he’s healthy enough to play during an appearance on the “Mike Drop with Mike Asti” podcast.
“Make no mistake, when Wilson is 100%, I think this job is his,” said Carter, who argued Wilson has the potential to provide a more complex offense.
Even though Tomlin’s plan may have always been to go to Wilson as soon as possible, plans can change quickly in the NFL. And Tomlin needs to publicly admit his plan has now changed during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
