After leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 4-2 record through the first six weeks, there’s a very real chance that Justin Fields is going to be headed to the bench this week. Mike Tomlin hasn’t named a starter for this week’s game against the Jets, but Russell Wilson has been taking first-team reps in practice and there’s been a lot of speculation that the veteran will be the starter on Sunday night.
Fields met with the media on Thursday and he didn’t shy away from answering any of the tough questions he was asked. At one point, Fields was asked if it would be frustrating to be benched after leading the team to a solid start and he gave a brutally honest answer: He thinks he would be the undisputed starter if he had simply played better.
“I mean, I don’t think I’ve played good enough, if I’m being real with you,” Fields told the media. “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.’ We got a few wins — of course I’m glad about that — but there are areas that I could be better at.”
Although Fields has totaled 10 touchdowns — five rushing and five passing — compared to just one interception, there have definitely been some rough patches. Fields has struggled with his accuracy, especially over the past two weeks where he’s completed just 56.9% of his passes. Fields has also taken 16 sacks (tied for sixth-most in NFL) and although it’s easy to blame the offensive line for many of those, there have been several that were on him.
Fields has played well, but as he said, he hasn’t played well enough to be guaranteed the starting job. Tomlin echoed that sentiment this week when talking about Fields.
“Justin has been really good, and we’ve been really good at times, but not to be confused with great,” Tomlin said.
If Fields is sent to the bench this week, he’s not going to pout.
“I’m just doing the same thing I was doing,” Fields said, via ESPN. “I just do my job at the end of the day and whether that’s playing, it’s helping the guys out on the sideline, tell him what I see, helping the rest out if he’s out there. So just small stuff like that.”
Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger thinks the team should stick with Fields as the starter, but right now, it remains to be seen if Tomlin feels the same away. Two of our NFL writers here at CBSSports.com actually debated about who should start for the Steelers this week and you can check out what they had to say here.
If Wilson does get the start, it will be his first time under center since being benched by the Denver Broncos following Week 16 of last season.
Wilson signed with the Steelers in March, but he injured his calf in training camp, which is why he hasn’t played yet this year. With the Steelers playing the Jets on Sunday night, we could see Wilson making his 2024 debut and Davante Adams making his debut with the Jets.
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Author: John Breech
October 17, 2024 | 12:05 pm
