Despite leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 4-2 record, Justin Fields may lose his starting quarterback position to Russell Wilson before the team’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ game vs. the New York Jets this weekend.
Fields, for whom the Steelers traded this offseason to presumably serve as Wilson’s backup, became the starter before the season began after Wilson injured his calf. The injury forced Wilson, who signed a one-year contract with Pittsburgh in March after being released by the Denver Broncos, to miss the first five weeks of the season. The veteran quarterback was active but did not play in the Steelers’ 32-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders as Fields started and threw for 145 yards and ran 59 yards and 2 touchdowns.
While Fields’ rushing ability is certainly tough to defend — he has run for 231 yards and 5 touchdowns this season — the young quarterback has passed for fewer than 200 yards in four of his six starts this season. And ahead of an increasingly likely switch to Wilson as the Steelers’ starter, Fields was surprisingly honest about his performance to this point in the year.
“I don’t think I played good enough if I’m being real with you,” Fields said, via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo. “If I’m being real with myself, if I did play well enough, I don’t think there would be any sort of (question) who should be playing who should not.”
When the Steelers signed Wilson and traded for Fields, it certainly appeared as if Pittsburgh was taking in two low-risk quarterbacks in hopes it could find one to lead the team back to the playoffs. Fields, despite his shortcomings, has done his job to this point.
Through six games, Fields has remained relatively turnover-free and thus efficient — his passer rating ranks 15th among 31 qualifying quarterbacks and his interception rate is second-best so far this season.
