Steelers’ Justin Fields: No QB debate if he plays better

PITTSBURGH — Though Justin Fields said he doesn’t know if he or Russell Wilson will start for the Steelers against the New York Jets on Sunday, the quarterback acknowledged Thursday that he hasn’t been good enough in six starts.

“I don’t think I played good enough, if I’m being real with you,” Fields said. “If I’m being real with myself, I think if I did play well enough, I don’t think there would be any sort of who should be playing, who should not.

“At the end of the day, I got a few wins. Of course, I’m glad about that, but there’s areas that I could be better at and I’m just going to continue to work on those and continue to get better.”

Fields went 4-2 in those starts, and though he leads the league’s quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns, the Steelers’ offense ranks 28th in passing and 20th in points per game. Fields’ completion percentage has also regressed to 57% in the past two games after he started out completing 69% of his pass attempts in the first four games.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, though, didn’t necessarily agree with Fields’ assessment of his play.

“I think sometimes some guys are too hard on themselves,” Smith said. “… You appreciate it about him. That’s why he works so hard, and nobody wants to be a martyr, but I mean I’m even guilty of the times. … It’s not ever as bad as you think, and sometimes you think you play well and you go back and say, ‘Hey, we got to wait with a few things.’

“I think that’s why you love working with Justin, because that’s real. That’s not just some cliche that some QB guru or somebody along the way told him to say. I mean a lot of these guys are hard on themselves and there’s so much that goes into playing quarterback, obviously the physical tools or you wouldn’t be at this level, but the mental component to me is what separates the great ones from the other starters in this league and that’s what he’s pushing himself to be.”

Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Wilson was “in consideration” to start now that he’s healthy from a lingering calf injury. Wilson, who wasn’t on the practice injury report for the first time all year, took first-team reps and led off the quarterback rotation in individual drills Wednesday.

“I want to be 6-0 right now, but it was a great opportunity for me,” Fields said, asked if he got what he wanted out of his starts. “Of course, I’m grateful for the opportunity. I did get those first six weeks, and we’ll just see what happens this week.”

With Wilson potentially starting, the Steelers stand to gain a quarterback who’s historically been more prolific at stretching the field with the deep ball. But they would also lose the quarterback mobility component of Fields’ game. Smith said that tradeoff is part of the calculus when determining the starter.

“They’re at completely different points of career and I’d argue different players,” Smith said. “So that’s the give and take. I mean obviously everybody’s seen [Fields’ mobility]. It’s been a weapon for us certainly, especially in situational football, but that’s fine. You just pivot and you lean into something else and that’s what you do. That’s our job.”

Fields said that no matter his role in Sunday’s game, his preparation and approach aren’t changing — even if it means coming off the bench for certain packages.

“I’m just doing the same thing I was doing,” he said. “I just do my job at the end of the day, whether that’s playing, helping the guys out on the sideline, telling them what I see, helping Russ out if he’s out there. So just small stuff like that.”

Fields also praised Smith, who helped Fields reduce the turnovers that plagued him in Chicago. This season, Fields has five passing touchdowns to one interception along with 16 sacks and one lost fumble.

“He just pushed me every day to get better as a quarterback, developmental wise,” Fields said of Smith. “Really just a person, too. I love Arthur. He knows that, and yeah, glad that he’s our OC.”

Smith, who previously dealt with several quarterback changes during his tenure as Atlanta’s head coach, acknowledged the emotional component of a switch and how it could affect Fields’ confidence. He said that’s something coaches have to consider when making a change.

“You look at everything,” Smith said. “I mean you try to look at from every vantage point, but that’s why you have to have conversations. No decision is ever easy. … When you become callous to it or numb, you probably should get out of this thing, but I think [Fields] confidence should be high. He’s 4-2, he’s been pretty productive and so whatever Mike tells us to do, like I said, I’ve got it ready either way and just working and that’s my job.”

And though his role may be reduced on Sunday, Fields isn’t ruling out the opportunity to contribute to the team throughout the season. “I think you just never know what happens,” Fields said. “… It’s a long season and life is crazy in general, so you just never know.”