Word out of Pittsburgh for the past week is that Justin Fields is making a strong case to challenge Russell Wilson for the starting quarterback job. He’s looked good in practice, making sharp throws. The preseason opener against the Houston Texans offered the perfect opportunity for him to further his case. If you watched the box score, you’d say he did exactly that, starting the game 5-of-5 for 67 yards. However, those numbers concealed the truth. Fields looked shaky at best for most of his time out there.
It started with not one but two fumbled snaps under center, both of which the Steelers were fortunate to recover. If that weren’t enough, Fields also took two sacks and four hits before the 1st quarter was even over. The result came in the way you’d expect. He struggled to get the ball out on time, allowing rushers the time needed to get there. Bears fans tried to warn people about this, having witnessed it for three years. For all of Fields’ brilliant physical tools, his inability to protect the football and slow reaction speed always gets him into trouble.
He was building all this momentum mainly because Russell Wilson had been out with a nagging injury. It appears the seven-time Pro Bowler is nearing a return now. This game, though preseason, represented a golden opportunity for Fields to make a statement. Instead, it was more of the same things he’s shown throughout his career—good moments interspersed with headache-inducing mistakes. Consistency was never his thing, and that hasn’t changed.
One can only hope he gets another shot. Nothing about that performance says he deserves to supplant Wilson as the starter. There are two more games to come. Justin Fields is a competitor. He’s known to bounce back. Still, he won’t win the job through strong practices alone. Pittsburgh needs to see it transferred to games. That didn’t happen this time. It will be interesting to see if the narrative around him shifts at all over the coming week following this performance.
