The Seattle Seahawks have improved to 3-0 on the season with their victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Although the club of 3-0 teams this year is small, there is another one in the AFC that may have some folks surprised: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In many ways, the Steelers and Seahawks have been mirrors of each other for the past few years, with the exception of the quarterback position. Where the Seahawks have been settled at quarterback for a while now, Pittsburgh has been toiling with mediocre-to-subpar play. It is why they sought out former the veteran Russell Wilson after he was released by the Denver Broncos. Wilson was quickly named the starter before the 2024 season, but now, one has to wonder how much longer he wil have such a designation…. or even should.
Wilson has now missed three-consecutive games to start the year. In his place has been backup Justin Fields, looking for his fresh start after his disastrous run with the Chicago Bears. The Steelers have won all three of these games with Fields at the helm. At first, Fields was hitting the sweetspot when it came to backup play. Yes, he did enough to not lose Pittsburgh the game, but he wasn’t lighting it up to threaten Wilson’s starting spot for when he was healthy.
At least, he wasn’t. On Sunday, the Steelers beat the visiting Los Angeles Chargers 20-10, and Fields played well. He completed 25-of-32 passes for 245 yards, threw one touchdown, one interception, and rushed for another score. All while Russell Wilson looked on from the sideline.
In the NFL, all that matters is winning. I say it weekly for this publication. And right now, the Steelers are winning with Fields under center. This isn’t a case where a backup is filling in for a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning for a few games. Wilson has no legacy established in Pittsburgh, no reason for a coaching staff to hold loyalty to him, especially with him essentially playing for comparative peanuts on a veteran minimum salary.
Next up for Pittsburgh is a road trip to play the Colts, who haven’t looked like anything special. This should be an incredibly winnable game for the Steelers. Should they prevail, they will be 4-0 in the Fields era.
At some point, Fields is going to make it incredibly difficult for coach Mike Tomlin to make the switch back to Wilson. Assuming we haven’t already reached said point…