The Pittsburgh Steelers may have made their fanbase a bit upset when they chose to buy a ticket to the Aaron Rodgers rollercoaster instead of retaining former first-round pick Justin Fields, but the New York Jets quarterback has spent the last few weeks reminding Steelers fans why this was such a good decision.
Fields may have lit the Steelers' defense up in their Week 1 shootout, but that was also the last time the Jets have scored a touchdown in the first half. Their international matchup against Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in London was emblematic of the worst parts of the Fields era, although amplified to the max.
Fields didn't record a first down until his fifth drive of the game, finishing the first half with just 17 total passing yards and multiple bad sacks taken. Even as the Jets were driving, Fields managed to mess up the two-minute drive so badly that he just let the clock run out after a successful fake punt.
The Jets are slowly realizing that Fields' inability to process the game quickly may ultimately lead to his undoing as a starting quarterback in the NFL. His ability to see the game has been pathetic against Denver, which should make Steelers fans even more grateful for Rodgers.
Jets fans are realizing why Steelers didn't bring back Justin Fields
While Rodgers has had his faults and limitations with the Steelers, his brain power and ability to make something out of nothing is one of the biggest reasons that this passing game is where it is right now. Fields' biggest flaw is once again starting to cause some havoc for the Jets.
While Fields is the only qualified quarterback who hasn't thrown an interception this season, continuing a very safe trend that saw him throw just one pick in Pittsburgh, the Jets have seen their offensive ceiling limited by bad sacks, missed open receivers, and alignment penalties.
Fields has been so bad that many connected to the Jets are screaming from the proverbial rooftops to put veteran backup Tyrod Taylor into the game. Even as Rodgers struggles to recapture his old form, Steelers fans haven't gotten to this point just yet.
Fields is always going to be a premium athlete with a big arm that will entice coordinators, but if he can't operate an offense like this, Pittsburgh's decision is looking more genius with each passing game.