Steelers Takeaways: Justin Fields is Good Enough, Patient Offense Prevails

PITTSBURGH — Justin Fields is good enough. That’s the biggest thing that we’ve learned through three weeks of him at the reins for the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers season.

Fields is not the superstar that people once thought he might be when the Chicago Bears drafted him No. 11 overall coming out of Ohio State. His athletic talents remain tantalizingly under-utilized. 

For a player that is the best athlete on the field almost every time he steps onto it, a stat line like Sunday’s against the Los Angeles Chargers feels almost pedestrian: 25 of 32, 245 yards, six carries for six yards.

His passer rating through three games is 95.3 — 12th-best in the NFL. Right in the middle of the pack. His QBR, which is more friendly to running quarterbacks, is worse, checking in at 22nd.

Through three games, this has not been a dominant statistical performance from No. 2 in black and gold.

It hasn’t mattered one bit. In fact, you could argue that the No. 1 reason that the Steelers are 3-0 — besides the team’s elite defense — is that Fields has not once tried to do too much. Considering that was basically 100% of his m.o. from his three seasons in Chicago, it’s been a pretty stellar development.

“He’s doing a good job doing what we’re asking him to do, playing and playing to win, and so that’s appreciated,” head coach Mike Tomlin said.

He’s doing all the things that Fields is not supposed to be able to do. He’s not making mistakes, with just one interception and no fumbles lost in three games. 

“That can’t happen again,” Fields said of the ball that clanged off Cordarrelle Patterson and was tipped twice before being intercepted.

He’s looking confident in reading defenses, picking apart the Chargers zone for a big play strike to Calvin Austin III.

“It’s on the QB,” Austin said. “It’s up to Justin to decide if the backer drops out or the backer sits on GP (George Pickens). He sat on GP and (Fields) threw it right behind his head.”

Asked about his quarterback’s supposed inability to read defenses, Austin said simply “the proof is in the pudding.”

The Steelers do not need Fields to be a superstar. They have a great defense, a solid running game and good special teams. They just need him to be good enough. He’s embraced that mentality of being a smaller part of a whole that’s a whole lot more effective. He won three games in a row for the first time in his NFL career.

“It means a lot, but at the end of the day, it’s not just me winning games,” Fields said. “It’s the whole team. I’m just happy to be a part of this team, happy to be a part of this organization, and we definitely look forward to keeping it going next week versus Indy.”

ALL WE NEED IS A LITTLE PATIENCE

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a hot start to the 2024 season with a 3-0 record, one of just four teams through the end of the day Sunday to start their season perfect.

Their defense has absolutely lived up to its billing as the best in the entire country through the first 18% of the schedule.

The offense has been more of a work in progress. The Steelers scored 20 points for the first time on Sunday after putting up to totals of 18 and 13 in their first two victories.

But for most of the day, it didn’t look like they were going to have a great day on offense. The Steelers turning things on in the fourth quarter, putting together a 12-play, 44-yard field goal drive and a five-play, 84-yard touchdown drive and then a 10-play, 65-yard game-sealer in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers gained 150 of their 346 yards in total on their three fourth-quarter drives. The running game, in particular, broke out late. They had 80 yards on 12 carries (6.67 ypc) in the fourth quarter. They had 34 yards on 19 carries (1.79 ypc) in the rest of the game.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith talked all week about how he could feel the dam breaking when it came to the Steelers running game. It didn’t happen until later in the game, but the fourth quarter looked like a Johnstown Flood reenactment.

“It was kind of just an awkward first half,” guard Mason McCormick said. “A lot of goofy things went on, but it was good when we got settled in early in that second half. To be able to establish the run and move the ball consistently was a ton of fun.”

They did it despite that being the only part of the game where the Steelers had a lead, making an already run-heavy team lean even more into that tendency, yet that’s when they had their greatest success.

“It’s just a game of attrition,” said running back Najee Harris. “We knew that was going to be a 15-round fight. We knew that who was going to come out as the winner was who wants it more. I was telling everybody in the huddle. This is the time right now to see who wants it more. I know I do, so y’all boys lead the way.”

“Especially him,” added Harris as McCormick walked through the locker room.

The rookie guard made his Steelers debut, playing as a jumbo tight end and working in a  rotation with Spencer Anderson at left guard. He got more playing time as the game went on, and Harris gave him a ton of credit for the late success in the running game.

“He has a dog mentality,” Harris said. “He’s gonna really good, man. I’m telling you. He’s gonna be really good.”

Harris might be onto something. McCormick entering the game as an extra tight end was practically begging the Chargers to load up the box on defense to stop the run. They did. The Steelers ran it right over them anyway.

“Late in that game, they were definitely stacking that box, just because they knew were were going to run the ball and run that clock out, and we did that,” McCormick said. “We executed, and it was a ton of fun.”

The Steelers stayed patient and stuck to their approach, and finally, that dam did burst — with a 6-foot-4, 309-pound South Dakota man with a smile on his face doing much of the damage.

YEOMAN’S WORK

For most of the game, Harris was doing some extremely hard running, with basically nowhere to go. The Chargers were stacking the box, the Steelers weren’t getting a lot of push on the offensive line, and the passing game wasn’t having enough to success to make the L.A. defense back off.

Through three quarters, Harris had 12 carries for 21 yards. That’s an ugly stat line, and while it remains on his record, it was more reflective of the work of the entire offense than his ability.

In fact, Harris did an incredible job to maintain forward yardage despite there largely being very little running room.

Despite 1.75 yards per carry in the first three quarters, Harris had just two negative plays, frequently barreling through multiple defenders just to get back to the line of scrimmage or earn a short gain.

Harris has spent three three years of running behind offensive lines that didn’t necessarily open up consistent holes, and until this year, for a very predictable offensive coordinator. He said that it’s something he’s gotten used to.

“If I’m completely honest, it’s been like that since I’ve gotten here,” Harris said. “Over the years, you learn how to be accustomed to it. If I’m going in there, showing bad body language, it rubs off on everybody. I told myself coming in this year that obviously, there’s going to be negative plays. When that happens, just make sure you stay positive. Motivate people and play off it. But that ain’t nothing new.”

Harris is in a contract year, after the Steelers did not pick up his option for 2025. But the leadership that he’s displayed from the first day of OTAs, through training camp and the regular season shows a player that’s more committed to the team than the team has been to him so far. He deserves a ton of credit for that outlook.

TIP OF THE CAP

The Steelers’ defense left Sunday with just one significant blemish on their record: what appeared to be a busted coverage between Joey Porter Jr. and Minkah Fitzpatrick that led to a 27-yard Herbert to Quentin Johnston touchdown.

But Fitzpatrick said it wasn’t actually a busted coverage — just a perfect call for the defense the Steelers were aligned in.

The Steelers gave Herbert a pre-snap look that said Cover 3, with Porter off the ball and Fitzpatrick in the center of the defense. That’s the Steelers’ most-called coverage, so it’s an easy look to spoof.

In Cover 3, Porter would carry Johnston all the way to the end zone, with Fitzpatrick helping on any deep in-breaking routes. In Cover 2, Porter would have a flat zone responsibility, with Fitzpatrick taking responsibility for any deep routes.

The best way to beat Cover 2 is a long throw on the sideline, behind the corner and far to the outside of the safety. They best ways to beat Cover 3 are to the flat and down the seam.

The Chargers had the perfect play called, with Johnston streaking down the sideline and an underneath receiver headed to the flat. When Herbert took the ball, he flopped his hips and shoulders to the right, like he was going to make a quick throw to the flat. That made Porter declare his intentions.

Porter stopped his backpedal and drove forward to the flat. Herbert lofted one over the top of him for an easy touchdown.

“They had a well designed play to a two-high defense on the touchdown,” Fitzpatrick said. “Justin made a good throw. They get paid, the coaches get paid. They’re gonna make plays.”

That throw is always open against Cover 2, but it was made even more so by Fitzpatrick starting in the middle of the field and having to cover even more ground to get to his zone. Not only did the disguise not work, it put the Steelers in a tougher spot than they would have been regardless.

“Even if I was wide, they pulled the corner out with that flat route,” Fitzpatrick said. “It creates what’s called a hole shot. I could have gotten there and maybe I would’ve tackled him instead of a touchdown, but where it was on the field, it was a great-designed play.”

ONE SIMPLE TRICK TO AVOID BEING TRAMPLED BY THE STEELERS DEFENSE: NEVER TRAIL

There’s no question that the Steelers defensive is incredibly good. They have allowed an absurd 8.7 points per game through three weeks, and have given up just six point in the second half of those games.

Their 229.7 yards per game allowed is 19 yards better than second-place Seattle. They have twice as many interceptions (4) as they have touchdowns allowed (2).

While the Pittsburgh defense is generally terrifying, they are not always unbeatable. All three Steelers opponents have been at least occasionally able to put a long drive together, especially in the early parts of games.

But the one thing you can’t do against this defense is get into obvious passing situations late in close games.

In Week 1 in Atlanta, the Steelers took a five-point lead late in the third quarter. The Falcons got four more chances with the football:

1) 5-yard run, holding penalty, incomplete, incomplete, punt

2) 3-yard run, illegal formation penalty, incomplete, 8-yard pass, punt

3) 13-yard run, interception

4) 7-yard pass, spike, sack for a 9-yard loss, game over

Denver was a bit of a different situation, with the Steelers leading by two scores until under the 2-minute warning. The Steelers defense was OK with trading time for yardage for most of that game.

But against the Chargers, it was more of the same. Chris Boswell kicked a field goal to make it 13-10 Steelers early in the fourth quarter. The Chargers got two more drives after that.

1) 6-yard run, 2-yard run, 18-yard pass, run for 3-yard loss, delay of game penalty, 3-yard run, sack for 8-yard loss, punt

2) Sack for 10-yard loss, 6-yard pass, sack for 10-yard loss, punt

You’re not going to see a team punt when trailing by two scores with five minutes left in the game very often. You also don’t see teams get into 4th and 24 at their own 16-yard line very often. Oh, and they did that without Alex Highsmith.

“We’re all just a pack of hyenas,” defensive captain Cam Heyward said. “It’s like dangle a little bit of meat. Everybody just wants a piece. I think it’s a bunch of guys that are hungry to get the sack first.”

Heyward said T.J. Watt is likely to fight him for a half a sack on the play where they teamed up to bring down Taylor Heinicke in the fourth quarter. Heyward is currently credited with a whole sack, but Watt might end up getting half.

For most of the second half, their teammates getting there first was a more significant barrier to an individual Steelers defender getting a sack than the Chargers offensive line was. Even from the press box, you can feel the pressure coming.

“We’ve got T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig on this side,” Porter said. “When you take the leash off them, we already know somebody’s getting back home. That’s just the mentality that we have, when we get in that situation, and it seems to always end up happening.”