After the Pittsburgh Steelers' 13-6 win over Denver Broncos, Justin Fields, who got the start over a still-injured Russell Wilson, made an intriguing admission about the offense's gameplan. It had nothing to do with the Broncos' players, strategy or play-calling. Instead, Fields spoke about how the Steelers came into the contest knowing this officiating crew called the most defensive pass interference (DPI) calls last season. He believed that knowledge could be used to Pittsburgh's advantage, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor.
“We knew coming into this game that this crew was the most, they threw the most DPIs last year, so we knew that coming in, and that was a big kind of effect on taking those shots downfield.”
George Pickens is making Pat Surtain work today
Ultimately, the Broncos had two DPI calls against them; one against CB Patrick Surtain II for 37 yards and another on CB Riley Moss for 27 yards. Surtain II was also called for a defensive holding. In total, the Broncos were penalized nine times for 124 yards.
Decoding the Steelers' unlikely 2-0 start with Justin Fields
Before this Week 2 contest against the Broncos, head coach Mike Tomlin indicated he'd like to stick with the “hot hand” at quarterback, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. If Fields continues to play well and execute to the team's liking, there might be no quarterback controversy to speak of when Russell Wilson is healthy and ready to return.
“If that happens, don’t be surprised if Tomlin continues to have Fields start, sources say, even if Wilson has recovered from his aggravated calf injury,” Rapoport wrote. “It would not necessarily be a benching, but more of a continuation of what is working under center.”
Fields finished 13-for-20 with 117 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Darnell Washington. He added another 27 yards on the ground. The 25-year-old signal-caller spoke to the media about getting the win and what it means, per the Associated Press.
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“It’s always hard to win in this league, so being able to start out 2-0, with two away games has been great,” said Fields. “But we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to stop the penalties, stuff like that. We ought to be better, including me.
“We get that and the way our defense is playing, we get rolling on offense, scoring 28 points-plus, we’ll be in good shape.”
