DETROIT — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said following Saturday’s preseason finale loss to the Detroit Lions that he’s not going to name a starter until the “end of this work week.” Even though Tomlin hasn’t revealed the starter, it’s pretty much certain that it’s going to be Russell Wilson. That has been the plan all along, and Wilson hasn’t done anything to lose the starting role.
“We’ll make a decision at the end of our work week this upcoming week,” Tomlin said. “We got three days of Steelers versus Steelers work. Why not do it then? It kind of minimizes Steelers versus Steelers work when we start making decisions prior to the completion of that.
“We’ve got ample time to prepare for Atlanta and make whatever decisions or announcements regarding division of labor or pecking orders and so forth. So, we’ll do it at the end of the work week.”
Wilson looked poised and accurate in his only series against Detroit, which ended with a 31-yard Cordarrelle Patterson touchdown run. He hit George Pickens for a huge third-down conversion to keep the first drive alive. His only other completion was to Pickens on a screen that lost yardage.
Wilson got his second start of the preseason against the Lions on Saturday. Wilson wasn’t necessarily bad in his Steelers debut against the Buffalo Bills the previous week, but the entire offense around him struggled to the point that it was tough to get a good read on where Wilson stood after an early-camp calf injury. Tomlin said after the Buffalo loss that he got an incomplete study on Wilson.
Fields was OK throughout the preseason but didn’t do enough to supplant Wilson as the starter. He was given plenty of chances, too.
“We just needed results that are indicative of how we’ve worked,” Tomlin said when about taking Wilson out after the opening-drive touchdown.. “They were able to put together a scoring drive and really just provided an opportunity to get Justin (Fields) in there sooner. So, that’s why we did it.”
“They both moved the ball. They won possession downs,” said Tomlin. “We put the ball in the end zone.
Tomlin was pleased with what he saw from both Wilson and Fields.
“They both moved the ball. They won possession downs,” Tomlin said about the quarterback play. “We put the ball in the end zone. Things that we hadn’t done to this point, sufficiently enough in the preseason.”
The Steelers are one of just two teams around the NFL that have not named their starting quarterback yet. The New England Patriots are continuing their battle between first-round pick Drake Maye and veteran Jacoby Brissett.
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Detroit.