The Pittsburgh Steelers and Head Coach Mike Tomlin have a difficult decision hanging over their heads about who will be leading the offense for the rest of the 2024 season. Justin Fields has gotten the team to a 4-2 record through six games, and he has really added another layer to the offense thanks to his ability to move and extend plays. On the other hand, Russell Wilson is now fully healthy and able to play if he is needed. He was fully healthy ahead of the Week 6 contest with the Las Vegas Raiders, but he backed up Fields.
Fields hasn't played like a top five quarterback by any means, but he has played well enough to hold on to his starting job in Pittsburgh. The team seems to be bought into him leading the offense, and his running ability is lethal. He has already carried the ball into the end zone five times, which is something Wilson just likely can't offer if he was in the starting role.
Former Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spoke about what he thinks the Steelers should do moving forward with the quarterback position on the most recent episode of his podcast Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger.
"I thought Justin actually played a good game. He went on some spurts where he had a couple of bad throws in a row, but all in all, I would not even think about taking him out of the game [starting role] right now. I would keep him in there and even if he has a bad game, I would keep him in there because right now, they're rolling. Yeah they lost two, they got this win, but I think he is playing well enough you know, I think he is doing enough."
The fourth-year quarterback had a rough stretch during the second quarter where he had some bad incompletions on some errant throws, but he bounced back and the offense played well enough to win. The group scored more points than Pittsburgh did during any game with Kenny Pickett as the starter, so they are upgrading the position over the 2023 season regardless.
Another reason Fields should remain the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh is that he is able to somewhat cancel out the poor play of the offensive line. He is able to extend plays like Wilson likely wouldn't be able to do at this point in his career. There are a lot of scenarios where Fields is able to escape and gain positive yardage where Wilson would have been sacked. Roethlisberger spoke about Fields using his legs.
"I think he is doing enough with his legs especially, making things happen, creating. Not necessarily this time with designed quarterback runs, it was him extending a play, seeing it, stepping up in the pocket and just keeping the play alive."
Fields certainly has his negatives, which include the occasional fumble or errant pass - but the offense would probably be in a much worse spot with Wilson taking the reigns. Fields also has the potential to be the quarterback of the future in Pittsburgh, while Wilson will be turning 36-years old during the 2024 season.
Steelers Legend Ben Roethlisberger Has Remained Consistent His QB Opinion
Roethlisberger has been very vocal about his opinions regarding the quarterback situation with the Steelers. He has been a supporter of Fields retaining the starting job ever since the team started the season off 2-0. He even stood behind Fields after Pittsburgh dropped their first game of the season to the Indianapolis Colts, and again after they lost to the Dallas Cowboys.
If Fields holds onto the starting job for another week, he will have a tough task of taking on the New York Jets and their stifling defense. This will give fans and the organization a true measuring of just how good Fields can be.
