The Steelers' Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons was Mike Tomlin's brand of football. But the results could have been different had Russell Wilson been able to go in this contest. This was a defensive slugfest from the beginning, but Justin Fields deserves credit for his underrated efforts in Week 1.
This wasn't a high-scoring affair; it was anything but. The Steelers rode the coattails of the defense and escaped Week 1 with an 18-10 victory on the road. However, Fields' performance in this contest was more impressive than anyone is giving it credit for.
Let's start with the circumstances he was under. Despite seeing more action in the preseason and yielding better results, the Steelers made the decision to roll with Wilson as their starting quarterback to begin the season. The veteran didn't end up, playing, however, as the Steelers took their QB decision down to the wire.
On a moment's notice, Fields got the nod at quarterback after the team determined Wilson wasn't fit to go as he dealt with calf tightness. All week, Fields could have been seeing starter reps that went to Fields instead.
Though he didn't have much time to game plan with his new team, the dynamic athlete showed off his impressive skills in Atlanta during the season opener. Early in the game, Fields used his outstanding athletic ability to move the chains with his legs.
While this didn't result in a single touchdown in sixty minutes of action, Fields led his team to six scoring drives -- including getting the Steelers into field goal range just before the half. When Pittsburgh had a chance to score a touchdown at the end of the game, they wisely sat on the ball with three straight runs to milk the clock.
In his debut regular-season performance with the Steelers, Fields finished with 17 completions on 23 pass attempts for 156 yards. The passing numbers were underwhelming, but it was everything else he did in this contest that is getting overlooked as Pittsburgh celebrates their 1-0 record.
Steelers should make Justin Fields their permanent starter
Both defenses were firing on all cylinders in this contest. Atlanta's pass rushers were constantly at the feet of Fields, while their defensive backs were draped all over Pittsburgh's receivers. When That's where Fields' rushing ability came in handy.
Over the course of the game, Fields carried the ball 14 times for 57 yards (4.1 yards per carry). When you combine this with playing turnover-free football and a 91.9 passer rating, this proved to be enough to get the job done on the road.
Surprisingly, Fields outpaced opposing quarterback Kirk Cousins in passing yards, yards per attempt, and passer rating, while never giving up the football.
Obviously, there's a lot that Fields needs to build on moving forward. As feared, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't have another competent wide receiver in this contest outside of George Pickens.
The Steelers aren't going to be contenders putting up 18 points per game; there's no getting around that. But Justin Fields drew the short straw and was still able to carry his team to victory in Week 1. He should be the starting quarterback moving forward, even when Russell Wilson is healthy and ready to go.