Big Ben Would Stick with Justin Fields as Steelers Starter: ‘I Don’t Think It’s Time to Pull the Plug’
Despite callings for Russell Wilson to replace Justin Fields as the starting quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger thinks that wouldn’t be a wise move. He believes the inefficiencies on offense are not all on Fields.
Fields completed 15 of 27 passes (55.6%) for 127 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 93.3 in Sunday night’s 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It was by far his worst performance this season, but it wasn’t awful. His receivers also let him down on several occasions with drops.
“I don’t think it’s time to pull the plug on Justin [Fields],” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “Did he have a great game? No. Did he have a bad game? No. Did he miss some things? Sure. But there were some balls that were dropped.
“There were some protection issues. There are other things that were wrong with the offense besides Justin Fields. If you ask me right now, what do you think is gonna happen this week. I would say stick with [Fields].”
Wilson has been dealing with a lingering calf injury since the start of training camp. He re-injured his calf at the Thursday practice prior to the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, and has been inactive for all five games. Wilson’s participation in practice picked up last week, so the time for Mike Tomlin to make a decision could be approaching.
When asked last Tuesday whether Fields is playing well enough for the Steelers to ride the hot hand, Tomlin did not discount that possibility.
“There’s a potential for that, but we’re not there as I stand here today,” he said.
“Play well. Win. That’s our business,” Tomlin added when asked what Fields could do to secure the starting quarterback position.
The Steelers have lost two straight, so it will be interesting to see if Tomlin would make a change if Wilson is healthy.
Chris Simms of NBC Sports has heard that the Steelers would prefer Wilson to be their starter.
“I think anybody you talk to around the league, it kind of seems like this is what the Steelers really want anyway,” Simms said on Pro Football Talk. “They want Russell Wilson to be their starter. It has seemed that way, it seems like they’ve tried to frame it that way from the get-go, that Russell Wilson is number one.
“It’s felt like they’ve been trying to, ‘We don’t want to play Fields. We want to continue to groom him and make him the guy for the future, but let’s make Russell Wilson the guy right now.’ The door is definitely open.”
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