If you were worried about Justin Fields losing his starting job to Russell Wilson sometime soon, you can finally breathe a sigh of relief. When both quarterbacks joined the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2024 offseason, Wilson was the QB in 'pole position' of the starting job and it was his to lose.
Now, three games into the 2024 season, Fields is running away with QB1 duties.
As Wilson watched from the sidelines for the third straight week with a calf injury, it was Fields who, once again, led the Steelers to victory -- this time proving he didn't need the assistance of his legs to move the chains.
In the second half of Pittsburgh's Week 3 game against the LA Chargers, Fields distributed the ball and utilized the middle of the field. His best play was a strike to Calvin Austin III who did the rest of the work after the catch for a 55-yard touchdown.
Fields' strong performance helped the Steelers to a 3-0 record entering Week 4. On September 24, head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media and shed light on the updated quarterback situation in Pittsburgh. As if there was any doubt, the starting job belongs to Justin Fields.
Tomlin says he wants Justin Fields "singularly focused" on starting as he walks into the building this week.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 24, 2024
When talking about Fields, Tomlin explained that he wants his young quarterback to be 'singularly focused' on starting against the Indianapolis Colts this week, not concerned with whether Wilson will be ready to return.
Steelers are making the obvious choice at quarterback
From a raw numbers standpoint, Justin Fields' production through three games has been nothing to write home about. The talented quarterback is averaging just 6.9 yards per attempt while throwing for a mediocre 172.7 passing yards per game.
But Fields has been better than the numbers suggest. In addition to having numerous big plays wiped off the board due to penalties early in the season, the Steelers haven't been unleashing the football when the Steelers have held the lead in the second half of each game this season. In an effort to milk the clock and play risk-free football, Fields has been somewhat limited by Tomlin's game plan.
Considering the 25-year-old quarterback is 3-0 on his new team and the fact that Wilson hardly played in the preseason, returning to the veteran would be foolish -- even if Wilson was deemed healthy and ready to play.
As long as the Pittsburgh Steelers are winning football games and Fields is executing the game plan, there's no need for Tomlin to even entertain the idea of switching quarterbacks.
This was an easy decision entering Week 4, and we'll see if Fields can make it a perfect 4-0 on the season on Sunday. Either way, Wilson stands almost zero chance of overtaking Fields as the starter unless things start to go terribly wrong.