Four games of Russell Wilson horror should force Steelers to turn to Justin Fields

After suffering through two years of Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky, it made sense why the Pittsburgh Steelers were forced to turn to Mason Rudolph in a desperate move to carry the team late last season. However, nobody would have ever thought we'd find ourselves in a similar situation because of Russell Wilson's abysmal performances.

Prior to their season finale against the Bengals, the Steelers were on a three-game blunder as they scored just 40 combined points against the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs in consecutive games in December. Now Mike Tomlin's team has four straight losses and an utter lack of momentum heading into the playoffs.

Wilson and the offense are to blame. While the defense finally stepped up and held an elite Bengals offense to 19 points, the offense couldn't overcome. During this atrocious four-game stretch, the offense averaged a mere 14.2 points per game—which would rank dead last in the NFL if prorated over a whole season.

There are plenty of fingers to point, but Wilson is the obvious culprit. In desperate need of a bounce-back game against the Bengals, the 36-year-old quarterback completed 17 of 31 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. This was good for a despicable 4.8 yards per attempt and a 78.4 passer rating.

It's worth noting George Pickens had a hatrick of drops in this game, and Pat Freiermuth dropped a pass on the Steelers' final offensive play that could have given Pittsburgh a shot to kick a game-winning field goal.

But no matter how you slice it, Wilson's performance has fallen short, and it's time to turn to a quarterback who could give the Steelers a fighting shot in the playoffs.

Steelers must replace Russell Wilson with Justin Fields

A desperation move at quarterback feels 'too little, too late', but I don't see what choice the team has at this point. In this devastating four-game stretch since mid-December, Wilson is averaging 174.5 yards per game for 5.6 yards per attempt and an 81.2 passer rating.

These per-game numbers are nearly identical to the ones that got Kenny Pickett 'benched' for Rudolph last season. The only difference is the Steelers have a much more competent quarterback to turn to this time.

Fields has his issues as a passer. In his fourth NFL season, he's unlikely ever to improve his accuracy and consistency much at this point. Regardless, the polarizing quarterback has a live arm and a lethal rushing ability that can help the Steelers move the chains and control the clock.

Fields went 4-2 as a starter for Pittsburgh before Mike Tomlin pulled the plug for Wilson. This included wins over what proved to be playoff-caliber teams like the Chargers and Broncos. Fields also took care of the football—chipping in 10 total touchdowns to just 1 interception in six games.

With Wilson at the helm, the Steelers have been outscored 109-57 over the past four games when facing playoff-caliber teams. Could Fields do much worse?

Turning to a quarterback who hasn't played more than a handful of snaps since the first half of the season is a desperation move, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We now have a month-long sample of Wilson playing as poorly as Kenny Pickett did last season and the Steelers are the coldest team entering the playoffs. They need a spark.