Tag: Steelers preseason

Mike Tomlin publicly non-committal on starting quarterback

Mike Tomlin isn’t ready to announce his starting quarterback yet.

After the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 loss the Detroit Lions on Saturday, the big question for head coach Mike Tomlin was related to who would be the team’s starting quarterback in Week One versus the Atlanta Falcons.

Tomlin was not ready to publicly name Russell Wilson the starting quarterback and said he would wait until later in the week, noting that it would somehow minimize the Steelers versus Steelers work this week.

How exactly? No one on the team thinks Justin Fields is going to be the starter, especially after how quickly Tomlin was willing to sit Wilson on Saturday after only one drive. Maybe Tomlin is just angling to just the best effort out of Fields by stringing him on for a few more practices before letting him know this was never a quarterback competition at all.

Wilson played four drives in the preseason and threw for a whopping 73 yards and threw for no touchdowns.

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1 good drive was enough for Steelers HC Mike Tomlin

Mike Tomlin only needed one scoring drive from Russell Wilson before moving on to Justin Fields.

I guess Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t learn his lesson from last preseason. In 2023, then-starting quarterback Kenny Pickett and the Steelers starters came out and put together quick scoring drives in multiple preseason games, prompting Tomlin to pull Pickett and the starters thinking everything was good.

Spoiler: Everything was not good. Not at all.

Tomlin took a similar approach on Saturday with starting quarterback Russell Wilson. After just three drives with no touchdowns the week before, Tomlin felt like he saw enough out of Wilson on Saturday with one touchdown drive to start the game versus the Detroit Lions.

“We just needed results that are indicative of how we’ve worked,” said Tomlin. “They were able to put together a scoring drive and really just provided an opportunity to get Justin (Fields) in there sooner. So, that’s why we did it.”

Now the Steelers have less than a day to cut their roster down to 53 and then begin preparations for their Week One showdown with the improved Atlanta Falcons.

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Steelers QB Russell Wilson politics for the offensive improvements after final preseason game

Russell Wilson made it seem as if the Steelers offense is all fixed after Saturday’s loss.

On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up an 0-3 preseason with a loss to the Detroit Lions. The starting offense was only on the field for one drive as a unit but they were able to march down the field and score a touchdown before quarterback Russell Wilson promptly left the game.

After the game, Wilson addressed the media and did his best to make the case that the single touchdown drive erased all the struggles this unit had through the first two games. Even in the second game when Wilson played multiple series, the offense was completely out of sorts.

This didn’t stop Wilson from doing the veteran thing and working hard to spin it all positive.

Wilson and the Steelers have to turn their attention to the the Atlanta Falcons in Week One of the regular season. We still have no idea how the new-look Steelers offense will perform this season and how long it will take for them to get going.

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Steelers find some offense in preseason finale

The Steelers wrapped up the preseason on the road against the Detroit Lions.

It took three games but on Saturday the Pittsburgh Steelers offense finally put together some semblance of an NFL offense against the Detroit Lions. The Steelers laid starting quarterback Russell Wilson for only one drive, cementing his spot as the team’s regular-season starter and he did lead the team to a rushing touchdown by Cordarrelle Patterson.

Backup Justin Fields was also successful in leading the offense to points once he came in as well. But overall, the Steelers offense continued to struggle, yielding only 66 passing yards between the two of them.

Defensively, the rotation of depth players afforded the Lions some solid opportunities to score and they took advantage. However, The Steelers did sack Lions quarterbacks five times along with a forced fumble and an interception.

Now the Steelers must turn their attention to trimming the roster down from 90 to 53 in just 24 hours then preparing to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week One of the regular season.

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The Steelers quarterback battle is over like it never happened

There never really was a quarterback battle and Satruday’s game proved it.

If you were holding onto even a shred of hope that there was a quarterback battle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, it only took about five minutes of this week’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions to crush those hopes and dreams.

Starting quarterback Russell Wilson played only one series against the Lions, leading the team to a touchdown before exiting in favor of Justin Fields.

If there was any sort of quarterback position battle going on, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin would have wanted a longer look at Wilson to compare him to fields. But pulling him so soon just cements the fact that Wilson has been the starter since the day he signed and nothing he or Fields has done since has changed a thing.

This has to be a tough pill for Fields to swallow. He’s made it clear since the Steelers traded for him that he was coming in to compete for the starting job. Was he sold a bill of goods by Tomlin? Will the team have some sort of role for him on offense and does Fields even want that?

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Steelers OT Troy Fautanu making ‘slow progression’ with knee injury

Troy Fautanu was supposed to be the team’s starting right tackle this season but has remained sidelined with a knee injury.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a plan. Draft offensive tackle Troy Fautanu out of Washington, let him work his way into the starting lineup and then prosper. Those plans were derailed almost immediately when Fautanu suffered a knee injury in the team’s first preseason game against the Houston Texans.

Now the Steelers are headed into their third and final preseason game and Fautanu is still on the mend. There’s been no timetable set by head coach Mike Tomlin for Fautaunu’s return and according to the talented rookie, it is a slow progression.

Fautaunu spoke to the media and while he remained optimistic there was clearly frustration that he is not able to contribute.

Fautanu’s absence means the Steelers’ starting offensive tackles remain Dan Moore Jr. on the left and Broderick Jones on the right. It isn’t clear how the Steelers will handle Fautanu’s injury at the start of the season but he could find himself on IR to start the year.

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Steelers starters offensive futility through two preseason games

The combination of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have scored three points on 13 drives this preseason.

On Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Detroit Lions in their final preseason game as a warm-up for the start of the regular season. Head coach Mike Tomlin said every healthy body will be playing on Saturday quarterback Russell Wilson will start.

The hope is the starting offense will be able to find the end zone. So far, in two games the combination of Wilson and Justin Fields has been on the field for 13 offensive drives. Here is how those drives have played out.

Punt – 8

Turnover on downs – 3

Missed field goals – 1

Field goals – 1

That breakdown is brutal. There was not a single touchdown, and there were only three points on 13 drives. This is in comparison to the Steelers starters last season in preseason which was practically perfect. This didn’t carry over to the regular season but it doesn’t change how concerning the early performances have been.

The Steelers are 0-2 in the preseason.

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Russell Wilson to start for Steelers vs Lions

Russell Wilson gets his second-straight preseason start this weekend.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media on Thursday after the team’s final full practice before the Steelers’ final preseason game. The first question he addressed was the starting quarterback spot and Tomlin made it clear it would be Russell Wilson getting the start for a second-straight game.

Wilson missed the team’s first preseason game with a calf strain and after Justin Fields only played three series, the quarterback position was a wash for a full third of the schedule.

In Week Two, Wilson got the start against the Buffalo Bills and he and Fields essentially split the game. Given Tomlin’s comments about what is still to come look for a repeat of that against the Detroit Lions on Saturday.

Tomlin also noted that nothing has changed in terms of the quarterback race between Wilson and Fields, meaning if the regular season started today, Wilson is the starter despite his struggles.

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Steelers QB says team is playing its starters vs Lions

The Steelers starters still need plenty of reps this week.

The first two preseason games for the Pittsburgh Steelers have been a comedy of errors for the offense. Despite all the moves the Steelers made this offseason to improve the offense, this group looks far worse than last season’s unit.

This includes the starting quarterback spot where Russell Wilson and Justin Fields continue to battle it out for the job with neither player really stepping up. Wilson addressed the media on Wednesday and gave the impression that even though this is the last preseason game, he expects the starters to play against Detroit.

Fields started in the Week One preseason game against the Houston Texans and Wilson started last week against the Buffalo Bills.

A lot of times, Week Three of the preseason is an opportunity for teams to rest starters and get a better look at backups ahead of roster cuts. Pittsburgh doesn’t have that luxury with so many problems on offense and so many starting spots still up for grabs.

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Steelers OC Arthur Smith doesn’t have the ‘burden’ of naming starting QB for final preseason game

We don’t know who will get the start in the Steelers final preseason game.

With just one preseason game left to go, there is no clarity on which of the Pittsburgh Steelers potential starting quarterbacks will start this week’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions much less which of them will be under center in Week One against the Atlanta Falcons.

Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith addressed the media on Tuesday and was asked if he thought Russell Wilson should get another start this week against the Lions and he noted the team won’t rush to make that call but when it comes to who will be the preseason or regular-season starter.

“Those are decisions that are going to be made at the end of the week — [we can] argue every coach and player, we want to play as many live reps as you can get,” Smith said. “And there’s no consequences. A preseason doesn’t go on your permanent record.”

The Steelers offense has been dreadful, regardless of whether it’s Wilson or Justin Fields running it. The Steelers coaches have gotten a better look at Fields but just barely. We expect Fields to get the start this week with the two of them splitting the game.

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