Mike Tomlin need to stop the agenda against Steelers QB Justin Fields

The Steelers had one of the biggest early-season surprises when presumed starter Russell Wilson reaggravated his preseason injury and, as a result, has missed the first two games of the season and counting. Justin Fields has been thrown into the starting role, and while the stats aren’t there, he is doing everything he can to succeed despite some coaching downfalls.

Let me be clear, Fields has not been a perfect quarterback. He has missed a few passes here and there that are on him. That said, when allowed to have some freedom in this offense, he has looked impressive. In particular, his ability to throw deep with good accuracy has been on display, even if a few of those passes have been negated by other penalties.

Fields has shown some healthy growth in his first year with the Steelers, but it really feels like the team is unwilling to take the reigns off of him. Through two games, the team has thrown the ball a total of 43 times, and the majority of the focus has been on the short game.

Despite his immense talent and good showings so far this year, the team is unwilling to let Fields play his style of game.

This can’t be what the Steelers signed up for

To an extent, the offense was going to look a bit more tepid in terms of the passing game. Arthur Smith’s offense is focused on a great running game that sets up the passing game. That said, this seems more like a slightly improved Matt Canada offense considering how reserved the team is being with their starting quarterback.

Going back to the Titans in 2020, which was arguably the peak of the Arthur Smith offense, you had Ryan Tannehill averaging 30 passes a game and a healthy 7.9 yards per attempt. Compare that to Fields, who through two games has averaged 21.5 attempts per game and a paltry 6.3 yards per attempt, which is a clear sign that this offense is focusing on doing just enough to scrape out wins. This is also a notable decrease from what Fields averaged in Chicago.

So what is the goal here?

You invested a draft pick in Fields, a younger talent with immensely more upside than the veteran Wilson. This is a great opportunity to see what he can actually do as a starter. Is he the future of this franchise? We won’t know, and we still won’t have any answers unless Mike Tomlin gives the green light to open up the offense.

Are the Steelers just keeping Wilson’s spot warm?

If I had to guess, it seems like the Steelers are still all in on Wilson right now, and they are just waiting to get him healthy before the job goes back to him. For a player that you signed for the veteran minimum and could barely take snaps in training camp because of this injury, I don’t see why the team is so focused on him.

This is coming at a cost too. Past this year the quarterback room is murky, as there isn’t anyone under contract past this year. You would have to be pretty foolish to think Wilson is the long-term solution given his age and recent regression. Fields isn’t a lock to be great either, but he has more of a chance to get there and stay here long-term.

With Fields likely starting against the Chargers, the Steelers need to open things up and let him sink or swim. If he balls out, you continue to roll with him because he has earned the job. If he fails, you have Wilson in the background to take his spot. What you can’t do is roll out this lackluster offense once again.

Instead, Tomlin and the Steelers seem fine with misusing Fields and promoting Wilson once he is healthy. This will mean that the offense comes out and scores 10-20 points and banks on the defense playing at an elite level. You learn very little about Fields and promote Wilson as soon as he is healthy.

Unless, of course, this is genuinely the Steelers' plan on offense moving forward. That opens up a whole other can of worms, and this team won’t remain among the best records in the AFC for long. That said, I can’t see the team using a veteran like Wilson in this kind of role. Instead, this team is crippling Fields right now, and the consequences could be dire.