Steelers Open to Playing Both QBs vs. Jets
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin remains mum on who will be the starting quarterback against the New York Jets on Sunday night, but all signs point to Russell Wilson being the starter. George Pickens even let the cat out of the bag.
Even with Wilson slotted to start, there’s a possibility that Justin Fields could see action, too. Most likely in a special run package.
“Certainly,” Tomlin said after Friday’s practice when asked if there could be a scenario where both quarterbacks play on Sunday night.
Tomlin said on Friday that he has a starting quarterback for Sunday, but is keeping that decision in-house.
“I am, but I’m going to keep that in-house,” Mike Tomlin said when asked if he’s ready to name a starter. “I thought [Wilson] was sharp, I thought Justin was sharp as well. I thought we had a highly productive week from both guys and from the unit as a whole.”
Wilson was cleared to practice last week and was a full participant, but worked with the second team, while Tomlin said he was working the rust off after five weeks of relative inactivity. Wilson dressed as the backup to Fields for the Steelers’ Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
“It’s the first game of the year for me,” Wilson said Thursday. “But you know, I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of first games. So the confidence is there, obviously, and then just being out with the guys, that’s the fun part about this game is just playing the playing the game you love and doing the physical part of getting to the end zone hopefully and scoring bunch of touchdowns.”
In six games, Fields has recorded 10 touchdowns (five passing, five rushing) and just one interception. His one interception in six games ranks second-fewest in the NFL among QBs with at least 1,000 passing yards.
The Steelers rank 28th in the league in passing yards per game at 166.8, so that’s one area where Wilson could bolster the offense. Wilson is a better passer than Fields, but doesn’t have the same mobility. Wilson is also 10 years older than Fields. The experience factor and Wilson being a more advanced passer seems to be the reason for the change.
Fields has been dynamic as a runner, leading all quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns and is fourth among QBs with 231 rushing yards.
“Justin’s legs are an X-factor,” Tomlin said on Tuesday, insinuating that both quarterbacks could be used on Sunday night.
The Jets are currently ranked 27th in rushing success rate on defense and got gashed by the Bills run game last week, allowing 149 yards.
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Pittsburgh.
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