The Pittsburgh Steelers and Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith utilized the Justin Fields package a little more against the Cleveland Browns in Week 12. Ever since Russell Wilson took over the starting job, fans were wondering if Fields would continue to play some role in the offense as he led the team to a 4-2 start to the season. Fields also had five rushing touchdowns, which added another rushing threat to Pittsburgh's running back room. Wilson has allowed the passing game to flourish, but it's pretty evident that he can't run as fast as Fields. Wilson has taken 16 sacks through five games, causing offensive drives with promise to stall out.
Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger talked about the Fields package on his podcast Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. He mentioned that the package needs to be more than just what fans saw in Week 12.
“To me, it needs to be used - it’s not every time you have a third and short... There still needs to be a package. It’s five to seven plays..." Roethlisberger said. "I thought Justin, his big 30-yard run was kind of a game changer. It kind of brought new life and gave us an opportunity."
Fields went in mainly on third and short situations or close fourth downs. Steeler Nation saw Fields come in mid way through the first quarter on a fourth and two play. Fields immediately got rushed and it was a turnover on downs that gave Browns the ball. It was not something fans wanted to see as some have been rooting for a Fields package since Wilson became the starter.
Fields also had a third down play late in the game that drew criticism. In a play to get a first down and have the Steelers run out most, if not all of the clock, Fields overthrew a deep shot to George Pickens. Pickens was open as he was one-on-one, but Fields sailed the ball over Pickens' head. That's a ball Wilson can easily throw, so it was questionable as to why Fields did that and the play call in general.
"You ask Justin to throw the ball late in the game when he hasn’t thrown the ball in a while, maybe that’s a call he made, I don’t know," Roethlisberger said. "It has to be used kind of sparingly. Has to be used at the right time, you know situational football. The nice thing is that when you use Justin a little bit at quarterback, it now forces you as a defense or an opposing team to focus and spend a little bit of time at practice on it.”
Head Coach Mike Tomlin stated in his weekly press conference that he was comfortable with Fields throwing the ball on that third down. Roethlisberger seems to love Fields, but isn't sure about his usage in the offense just yet. Fields would definitely benefit well being brought in on red zone plays. With the Steelers' recent red zone offensive struggles, Fields could help this out with some different plays created by Smith. The Steelers' next chance to showcase a Fields package will be on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13.
Steelers Facing Tough Defenses Through Last Weeks Of The Season
It was known going into this season that the Steelers would have one of the hardest second half schedules in the NFL. With all six of their AFC North games and matchups between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs falling into the last nine weeks, the Steelers need to finish strong in order to make the playoffs.
The Eagles and the Chiefs both rank in the top five in the NFL of total yards allowed per game on defense. In AFC North football, any game can go either way, no matter where a team ranks in a certain category. The Ravens have allowed their opponents to score 24.5 points per game, but the Steelers only scored 18 points on the Ravens, all coming from field goals by Chris Boswell. Pittsburgh's offense will not only need to score touchdowns and get going early, but also find a way to get Fields to push the offense into the end zone.
