Arthur Smith’s Quote on Justin Fields Could Be Proof Steelers QB Has Won Starting Job

The Steelers might have their QB1.

Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The Pittsburgh Steelers have rolled to a 3-1 record to start the NFL season, a result better than what many may have expected given the team’s quarterback shake-up this past summer. 

With veteran Russell Wilson still working his way back up to full health, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has repeatedly declined to name current starter Justin Fields as the team’s QB1. The Steelers’ depth chart would reflect as much.

Yet, Steelers OC Arthur Smith’s latest quote on Fields may give fans plenty of reason to believe the 25-year-old signal-caller has already won the job in Pittsburgh.

Fields threw for 312 yards and one passing touchdown while adding two rushing touchdowns in the Steelers’ 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4, ramping up his play in the second half of the game to nearly clinch the unlikely comeback against Joe Flacco and Co.

Smith revealed just how impressed he was with Fields in a media session on Thursday.

“I thought in that second half, what was cool to watch as a coach and a play caller, when somebody gets that kind of flow, (Fields) damn near took the game over, and when that happens and you feel it with a player, it didn’t matter what I called, you felt him rolling,” Smith told reporters.

Smith isn’t the only one in awe of Fields’s quarterback play of late. CBS announcer Tony Romo also sang Fields’s praises during the Steelers’ Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, and NFL analysts across the board have similarly shared their support for Fields in the last few weeks.

Through four starts, Fields has recorded six total touchdowns against one interception while completing 70.6% of his passes, a mark better than that of several elite quarterbacks this season including Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.

All eyes will be upon who Tomlin chooses as the starting quarterback for the Steelers’ Sunday Night Football matchup against Dallas Cowboys.

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