Justin Fields Megathread - Steelers Edition

[docc]

I like Justin but lots of $$ in Wilson..and passing for chunk plays maybe..

[wab]

They actually have almost nothing in Wilson in terms of money. Denver is essentially paying him to play in Pitt.

[Grizzled]

Read today that having to give up a 4th is playing into Tomlin's decision to not start him today.

[docc]

Me thinks Justin should rent a home...not buy one in Pissburgh..

[LacertineForest]

Well, for one game, anyway, the Steelers' offense bested their offensive yardage average by over 100 yards, scored a season high amount of points (17 more points than they average), and did it against a team that was allowing 18ppg. Unlikely Justin starts again until Russ slumps or gets injured.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

Yep, I agree with LF.
Injuries could be the only chance of getting a 4th.

Plenty of games left

[Grizzled]

Well, for one game, anyway, the Steelers' offense bested their offensive yardage average by over 100 yards, scored a season high amount of points (17 more points than they average), and did it against a team that was allowing 18ppg. Unlikely Justin starts again until Russ slumps or gets injured.

Yes. Wilson gave them exactly what Tomlin was hoping for. But Russ isn't Brady or Favre, will he make it the rest of the season injury free?

[Rusty Trombagent]

It's not a perfect analogy, but it is so weird that the Steelers are very much going through their version of a Grossman vs Orton war right now, with our boy Justin in the role of Orton.

[dplank]

Well that sucked. Need an injury now or we lost 4th.

Question for all those “I never root for an injury” folks…how bout now?

[HisRoyalSweetness]

You have to hand it to Tomlin.

He was getting a lot of negative coverage in the media about his decision to go with Wilson after Fields led them to a 4-2 start, proved popular with teammates and could have potentially been the future of the franchise.

The guy who's never had a losing season demonstrated yet again just why that is.

[Grizzled]

Well that sucked. Need an injury now or we lost 4th.

Question for all those “I never root for an injury” folks…how bout now?

I'm one of those guys. How about a high ankle sprain taking several weeks to fully recover? Not a muscle/ligament tear or bone break ....

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Steelers' Mike Tomlin: QB Russell Wilson 'excellent' in Pittsburgh's win over Jets

Early in Sunday night's tilt with the New York Jets, Russell Wilson looked like a quarterback who hadn't played a lick of competitive football since last Christmas Eve. The former eight-time Pro Bowler, however, settled in and hit some deep shots, pushing the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 37-15 win.

"I thought he was excellent," head coach Mike Tomlin said of Wilson. "I thought he got better as the game went on, but I'm not surprised by that. It's been a while since he played some ball, but I thought he settled in, knocked the rust off and distributed the ball around and played well."

The boo-birds were out early from the hometown crowd as Wilson spiked a few early passes into the turf. After an opening drive field goal, Pittsburgh went three-and-out on three consecutive drives. Some fans even began to chant for Justin Fields.

However, a Beanie Bishop Jr. interception turned into a late first-half touchdown settled Wilson, and the offense marched up and down the field from there, scoring on its final five possessions of the game, including four TDs.

"First of all, I really believe in being neutral," Wilson said when asked about the adverse reaction early from the crowd. "Not being too high, not being too low. … Coming into this game, we had a couple things early that we could've had. I felt like it was playoff baseball in the sense I started 0 for 2, but felt like I was gonna get hot. I kept telling coach, I'm gonna get hot here. And sure enough we did."

Wilson generated 264 pass yards, two pass touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 109.0 passer rating in Week 7 while adding a rushing score. It marked the most pass yards by a player in their Steelers debut, breaking Earl Morrall's record of 249 in Week 1, 1957.

Wilson had a higher passer rating in Week 7 (109.0) than Fields did in any of his six starts in 2024 (Fields' highest was 104.0 in Week 4 at IND).

"The reality is there's so much more out there, Wilson said. "That's the good news. There's so much more out there, and we'll get better as we go. We're gonna keep working. There's a lot more football left, but to be where we are is a good place."

The inaccuracy scuttled the Steelers offense early and led to the call for the early hook. But Tomlin stuck with the 35-year-old, and it paid off. Wilson hit several deep shots to George Pickens, which helped open up a previously restricted offense. His touch and ability to get through his progression improved the Steelers' passing attack from what we saw early in the season, particularly in the red zone.

"I think throwing that first touchdown to George was the moment I was like, alright, there's gonna be a lot more of these I believe," Wilson said. "Sometimes it takes the first home run, that first double off the wall, whatever it may be. Obviously it's October, so I'm talking baseball, but I just think when you put all the hard work in and guys are doing the work, at some point it's gonna turn in your favor, and it did tonight."

The performance wasn't wholly unlike some of Wilson's best games last season in Denver. If he hits those 50/50 sideline balls to Pickens, the Steelers offense will be dangerous. In the games they miss, it could be a slog. On Sunday night, it worked exceedingly well.

The 37 points put up was the most by a Pittsburgh squad since Week 11, 2021, when Ben Roethlisberger was under center (41-37 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers).

https://www.nfl.com/news/steelers-mike- ... -over-jets

Fields had his chance and didn't take it. He wasn't a disaster but wasn't good enough, opening the door for Wilson who took his chance and ultimately blew Fields' performances out of the water. Bummer.

[Rusty Trombagent]

Kinda damning words from Najee too:

Running back Najee Harris said that Wilson made the offense “multidimensional” and shared his belief that having that at your disposal is “how you go far in the playoffs.” There’s a long way to go before we get to that point, but Sunday night showed what might be possible in Pittsburgh over the next few months.

[dplank]

You really can't dispute the results. But it is just one game, so we will see...

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

Well that sucked. Need an injury now or we lost 4th.

Question for all those “I never root for an injury” folks…how bout now?

Nah, I still don’t root for an injury.

If it happens it happens, if not we get a 6th.

[southdakbearfan]

Maybe they can renegotiate for a 5th, remove the playtime rider on it so they can use fields however they want

[Arkansasbear]

I was hopefully early on. I think Wilson at one point was something like 4-11 for 81 yards with over half those yards coming on one play. Then it changed.

[RichH55]

Makes you wonder if this is a political thing (Wilson and his camp pissing and moaning?)

Regardless... I'm glad we have Caleb Williams

It's just a tape thing.

[DTsFlappingGums]

The stat line doesn't bode well for Fields ever getting back in, but it's hard to imagine those lollipop throws can end up as positive as they did last night on a regular basis.

[wab]

I'm fairly confident Fields will play again. Russ will get banged up.

[thunderspirit]

I'm fairly confident Fields will play again. Russ will get banged up.

Probably.

[Rusty Trombagent]

yeah, he still moves around like a toddler back there. he's 100% gonna get injured at some point.

[HurricaneBear]

Well that sucked. Need an injury now or we lost 4th.

Question for all those “I never root for an injury” folks…how bout now?

For a 4th? No, still not rooting for an injury.

[dplank]

Well that sucked. Need an injury now or we lost 4th.

Question for all those “I never root for an injury” folks…how bout now?

For a 4th? No, still not rooting for an injury.

Not even a twisted ankle? cmon

[RichH55]

For a 4th? No, still not rooting for an injury.

Not even a twisted ankle? cmon

Yeah - THIS.

Plenty of scenarios that dont really hurt Wilson - but get Fields to 51% (What does he still need?)

I'll cheer for: Wilson oversleeps alarm - benched for 1 game.

1 game with Russ Steelers win 24-3 but Offense on the other team has a couple of longer drives for no points, Defense actually scores a TD and sets up very short field for Russ (TD on one play) and Steelers just run out the clock in the 4th - with letting Fields play the last 2 series including the kneeldowns - but total offensive snaps are only 45 for the game

[HisRoyalSweetness]

No need to root for Wilson to get hurt, just to hope that he plays really poorly forcing Tomlin to turn back to Fields.

[Rusty Trombagent]

Maybe he gets stuck in traffic on the way to the stadium. Or a bad case of the runs, ala Lamar Jackson.

[RichH55]

Maybe he gets stuck in traffic on the way to the stadium. Or a bad case of the runs, ala Lamar Jackson.

https://images.app.goo.gl/1JR8eN3DHRc4fba7A

[HisRoyalSweetness]

It looks pretty much a given now that Fields won't get another game if Wilson remains healthy.

That's 2 wins in 2 games.

1st Game: 16 of 29 (55.2%) for 264 yards (9.1 ypa), 2 TD, 1 INT, 109.0 passer rating
2nd Game: 20 of 28 (71.4%) for 278 yard (9.9 ypa), 1 TD, 0 INT, 114.9 passer rating

Next Gen Stats Insight from Giants-Steelers (via NFL Pro): Monday night marked the Steelers' second game with 400-plus total yards in as many weeks, both with Russell Wilson starting. They had just one in six games with Justin Fields as the starting quarterback.

Tomlin on Wilson:
"I just thought he didn't need to warm up to it. A little less rust than the week before, but I'm not surprised by his capabilities."

[Arkansasbear]

It looks pretty much a given now that Fields won't get another game if Wilson remains healthy.

That's 2 wins in 2 games.

1st Game: 16 of 29 (55.2%) for 264 yards (9.1 ypa), 2 TD, 1 INT, 109.0 passer rating
2nd Game: 20 of 28 (71.4%) for 278 yard (9.9 ypa), 1 TD, 0 INT, 114.9 passer rating

Next Gen Stats Insight from Giants-Steelers (via NFL Pro): Monday night marked the Steelers' second game with 400-plus total yards in as many weeks, both with Russell Wilson starting. They had just one in six games with Justin Fields as the starting quarterback.

Tomlin on Wilson:
"I just thought he didn't need to warm up to it. A little less rust than the week before, but I'm not surprised by his capabilities."

Yep.