PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost four straight games heading into the playoffs and a big reason why is the offense’s decline.
Over the past four weeks, the Steelers offense has been playing worse than it ever did with Matt Canada, who many have tabbed to be the worst offensive coordinator in recent history.
With a struggling offense, much of the blame has been put on quarterback Russell Wilson. The 35-year-old seemed to turn back the clock when he took over as the Steelers starter in Week 7. However, on the team’s four-game losing streak, he’s thrown for just 698 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin knows Wilson and the rest of the unit must be better if they hope to end their seven-year playoff win drought on Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens.
“I think it’s reflective of all of our performances over the last month. It’s been spotty at best,” Tomlin said of Wilson’s play. “But again, during that time period, we’ve been 0-4, and so that’s not an earth-shattering statement.”
Pittsburgh does have another capable quarterback on the roster in Justin Fields. He threw for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while leading the Steelers to a 4-2 start to the season.
Don’t expect the Steelers to make a quick change at quarterback entering the playoffs, though. Tomlin is still confident Wilson can provide a spark for the offense in the playoffs.
Why?
“His approach to business day to day, first and foremost, certainly,” he said.
That doesn’t mean fans won’t see Fields on the field at all, however. The Steelers have already used Fields in offensive packages this year since demoting him to backup quarterback.
Since then, Fields has rushed for 58 yards on seven carries (8.3 yards per carry) while also dealing with an abdominal injury that sidelined him for a couple of weeks.
Now that Fields is fully healthy, Tomlin is more than happy to use his athleticism once again to help them try to win this week.
“I’m certainly open to utilizing Justin. He has an awesome skillset. We’ve done some of that in the past. We’ve done less of it in recent weeks,” Tomlin said. “He experienced an injury, so a couple of weeks back, that slowed some of that, but certainly in an effort to win this game, I am open to any combination or combinations of the division of labor in an effort to do so.”
Only time will tell how much playing time Fields will get, but if Wilson’s struggles continue, Tomlin may be forced to get one last look at his 10-years younger quarterback.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.