Tag: Justin Fields

Steelers fans react: Pleas for Russell Wilson to take over as starter

The Pittsburgh Steelers have suffered their second-straight loss, and fans want Justin Fields substituted out with Russell Wilson as the QB.

After failing to help the Pittsburgh Steelers maintain their unbeaten record in Week 4 and doing almost nothing to contribute to the Steelers’ efforts in Week 5, Justin Fields’ time as the starting quarterback may be finished.  Fields doesn’t seem comfortable in the pocket or in Pittsburgh’s offense overall.

Everyone was fine with Fields remaining the starting quarterback after three straight wins to start the season, but after two consecutive losses, where Fields’ fumbles, decision-making, and overall accuracy are costing the team games, it may be time for a change at quarterback.

Russell Wilson has been the topic of conversation these past few weeks. There have been some rumors and theories regarding his overall health, but with Fields struggling to win the team games, Wilson may be the last hope of the ‘Steel City.’ Fans appear to feel the same way, with many taking to social media to not only voice their disappointment over the Week 5 loss but also to plead their case for the Steelers to start Wilson moving forward.  Here are some of their reactions on social media:

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Did Justin Fields give away the keys to the kingdom in Week 5?

Through five weeks of football, Fields has looked subpar through more than half of the games he’s played in. Is it time for a QB change?

Justin Fields did his best Groundhog Day impression and reverted back to his Week 1 self. Do not let his two touchdowns fool you—Fields did almost nothing to put his team in a position to win this game, but he sure did a lot to cost them the victory.

Several plays throughout the game made Steelers fans ask themselves, ‘This is the quarterback who beat out Russell Wilson? Yikes!’

Fields was very lucky his stats didn’t get any worse, as at least three of his throws went straight to the defense’s hands or right into double coverage, but the Cowboys’ defensive backs dropped every potential turnover.

He was incredibly inaccurate throughout the contest, forcing several of his tight ends and wide receivers to dive for his overthrown passes, such as wide-open Connor Heyward early in the game.

After throwing for his second-worst passer rating of the season, Mike Tomlin must bench Fields and stop playing this game of ‘injury chicken’—start Russell Wilson and let the former Super Bowl XLVIII champion cook.

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Steelers lose heartbreaker to Cowboys on 4th-down TD pass in final minute

The Steelers defense got carved up by the Cowboys on Sunday night.

This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccurate headline.

After weather delayed kickoff by about 90 minutes, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys squared off on Sunday night in a battle of two of the most popular teams in the league. The Cowboys dominated in the boxscore, but the Steelers held on to a lead heading into the final few minutes. But on fourth-and-goal, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott connected with wide receiver Jalen Tolbert to pull off the 20-17 win.

This loss drops the Steelers to 3-2 on the season and puts them in a tie for the top spot in the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens.

Offensively, the Steelers struggled to find consistency on the ground, which hindered any opportunity for quarterback Justin Fields to get into a rhythm in the passing game.

Defensively, the Steelers were scorched by Prescott to the tune of 352 yards passing. The Steelers lost edge rusher Nick Herbig in the first half and failed to generate any sort of pass rush other than from T.J. Watt, allowing Prescott to march down the field for the game-winning score.

But the Steelers almost secured victory moments before the pass to Tolbert. On second-and-goal from the 1, Elandon Roberts flew over the line of scrimmage and torpedoed running back Rico Dowdle. The ball popped out and lay on the turf, and for a brief moment it appeared a Steeler would fall on it and end the game. But Prescott alertly dived on it.

The Steelers have lost two in a row and now have to prepare for a long road trip out west next week against the Las Vegas Raiders.

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Surprisingly unsurprising: Russell Wilson is emergency QB for Week 5

Russell Wilson, for the fifth straight week, will serve not as Pittsburgh’s starter or backup QB, but as the emergency option.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  From winning Super Bowl XLVIII to being selected for nine Pro Bowl appearances, Russell Wilson seemed to be on the fast track to redemption.  An aggravated calf injury barely held Russell Wilson out of the Steelers regular season debut last month on September 8th.  Almost a month later, the missed games seem less like precautionary measures, and more or less to allow Justin Fields to continue to lead the team without controversy.

Gerry Dulac, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reported that for the fifth straight week, Wilson will serve as the team’s emergency quarterback in case starting QB Justin Fields and backup QB Kyle Allen both go down with injury.

Is there something here that Steelers fans, including myself, just aren’t seeing? Is this some sort of elaborate plot to keep Wilson’s value as a starting-caliber NFL QB intact, even though he has indeed lost the starting job to Fields?

As the Pittsburgh Steelers’ prepars for their Sunday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys, all eyes will be on Fields and his ability to keep Wilson at bay.

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Steelers vs Cowboys: Official predictions

Cast your vote as we give you our predictions for this week’s game.

NFL experts are split on this week’s showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. This game really is that close as both teams come in with injuries and questions but a deep level of urgency to keep pace in their divisions.

Both teams are going to lean heavily on their quarterbacks and top receiver with the Steelers being led by Justin Fields and George Pickens. Last week the Steelers vaunted defense took a hit last week and we expect them to take it out on the Cowboys with a bounce-back performance.

Here are our Steelers Wire staff picks for this week.

Head coach Mike Tomlin is known for his ability to get back on track after a loss. You factor in this is a home game and a prime-time game and I think the Steelers are going to be too much for a Dallas defense minus its two best pass rushers. Steelers 27, Cowboys 17 – Curt Popejoy, Managing Editor

After growing confident and complacent through the first three weeks of football, the Pittsburgh Steelers came crashing back down to earth with a loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4.  While their Week 5 competition, the Dallas Cowboys, is Pittsburgh’s toughest opponent so far in 2024, the Steelers have a fire in their hearts once again.  The Steelers lean on the offense and pick up the victory: 31-21 Pittsburgh – Andrew Vasquez, Contributor

Unlike vs the Colts, the Steelers defense comes to play and keep the Cowboys at bay. The home crowd invigorates Justin Fields and company and defeats Dallas. Steelers 20, Cowboys, 10 – Allison Koehler, Contributor

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What happened the last time Justin Fields played the Dallas Cowboys?

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields has an opportunity to even his record versus the Dallas Cowboys.

Justin Fields is a different kind of quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers than he was with the Chicago Bears — that’s clear.

Though Fields is 0-1 versus the Dallas Cowboys, it’s anybody’s guess how he’ll perform tonight. Fumbles aside, if Fields plays like he has been in Pittsburgh, the matchup should be competitive.

Speaking of fumbles…

The last time Fields took on the NFC rival Cowboys in Week 8 of 2022, the Bears were down 35-24. Driving midway through the third quarter, a pass from Fields to running back David Montgomery was coughed up, recovered, and returned for a 36-yard touchdown by linebacker Micah Parsons.

And just like that, what could’ve been a one-score game became a 19-point  deficit from which the Bears would never recover.

Parsons is out for tonight’s showdown at Acrisure Stadium — and hopefully so are Steelers fumbles.

Fields finished the Bears-Cowboys game with a 120.0 passer rating after going 17-for-23 and scoring three total touchdowns (one rushing).

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Arthur Smith on Justin Fields: ‘Almost took the game over’

Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith spoke very highly of Justin Fields’ Week 4 performance, especially his second-half.

While some fans are debating who the true QB1 is in Pittsburgh, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith appears to be a massive fan of Justin Fields’ poise and playmaking ability.

Smith is definitely someone you want in your corner when you’re engaged in a quarterback competition—or possibly winning one like Fields is.  Well, almost everyone thinks he’s beating out Russell Wilson.

While fans wish for Fields to remain the starting quarterback, their pleas fall on deaf ears, as head coach Mike Tomlin feels the quarterback competition is yet to be decided.

However, Smith nor Fields were blind to his own statistical output in Week 4—throwing for over 300 yards, rushing for over 50, and adding three total touchdowns to cap off his elite performance.

Fields will need to end this QB controversy once and for all against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, and at least he’ll have his offensive coordinator supporting his every move.

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Russell Wilson looks healthy enough, but what’s the real story?

Is Russell Wilson’s calf injury as bad as Pittsburgh is making it out to be? Or, is this dramatized and only the tip of proverbial iceberg?

‘To Russ, or not to Russ, that is the question’ (Shakespeare, maybe?)

What on earth is going on with Russell Wilson’s calf injury? It appeared that Wilson was simply being held out of the Steelers’ regular-season debut for precautionary reasons, but missed the next three Weeks straight. Even though Justin Fields looked deflated through the first two weeks of the season, Wilson continued to nurse his injury while the latter earned the team’s trust with consecutive elite performances in Weeks 3 and 4.

Russell Wilson isn’t the only player with an “injury” designation that has fans scratching their heads, as many also ponder why WR Roman Wilson hasn’t played either:

Could this be some sort of PR stunt for the Steelers QB, in which the team provides Wilson with an alternative option to avoid facing the humiliation of losing the quarterback battle to Fields?

We may never find out exactly what is happening with the pair of injured Wilsons in Pittsburgh, but Mike Tomlin sure loves to keep his cards close to the vest.

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Former Steelers’ All-Pro WR predicts Davante Adams to Pittsburgh

Former Steelers All-Pro WR Antonio Brown predicts that Davante Adams will soon be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Can Omar Khan make it a reality?

There have been plenty of former and current Steelers players lobbying for Davante Adams to come to the ‘Steel City.’ Rumors and speculation, such as Adams following George Pickens on social media, only deepen the rabbit hole of fantasy that we Steelers fans dive into.

However, one former Steelers receiver, five-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler Antonio Brown, seems to be making some accurate predictions on the Steelers’ player acquisitions and NFL moves. Brown correctly predicted the Steelers signing Russell Wilson well before it became public knowledge, and he did the same with the Bills-Texans trade for Stefon Diggs. Now, Brown has a new prediction, this time focused on a Pittsburgh trade:

Brown was one of the few speculating that Brandon Aiyuk would be traded to the Steelers, only for the deal to fall apart in the final hours.

Is the member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team onto something, or is this simply a former Steeler wishing his team luck? One thing remains for certain: if the Steelers are in win-now mode, Adams should be acquired.

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Russell Wilson should be given a chance to earn his spot back, right?

A calf injury shouldn’t be the reason a former Super Bowl winning QB loses his starting job, right? Tell that to Mike Tomlin.

The quarterback competition seems all but dead at this point, and the culprit for the battle’s end is none other than a… calf injury?

Yes, you read that correctly. Although Mike Tomlin has been adamant in seasons past about starting players not losing their spots due to injury, it seems almost as if that is exactly what happened.

Justin Fields may have overtaken the job at some point during the 2024 campaign, but Russell Wilson‘s only attempt to compete was in a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, in which the offensive line let him get absolutely crushed.

If that is why Tomlin is hesitant to name a starter moving forward, good on him for creating an equal playing field. But that also begs the question: how can anyone bench Justin Fields when his performance was MVP-esque through two consecutive weeks of football?

There’s a simple answer—you can’t. And now everyone can understand why Tomlin and the Steelers are between a rock and a hard place, or in this circumstance, a Russ and a Fields.

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