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Former QB Critical of Justin Fields' Steelers Debut

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback didn't impress in his preseason debut.

Noah Strackbein

Aug 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) throws a pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) throws a pass against the Houston Texans during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports / Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers' first-team offense failed to score during their 17 snaps of action in the team's preseason loss to the Houston Texans.

His performance ended with five completions in his six attempts, throwing for 67 yards. He added just two yards on the ground before being replaced by Kyle Allen and the second-team offense.

Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel decided to dive deeper into the short performance of Fields after the Steelers' loss to the Texans. His overall assessment? "Not good. Not a good start for Justin Fields."

Daniel highlighted four negative plays for Fields, two of which were fumbled snaps and the other two were sacks.

"These two botched snaps had Mike Tomlin absolutely crazy right there," Daniel said. "You heard him in the postgame press conference…it looks like maybe his hands are coming open. This is something Mike Tomlin can’t stand. This is a huge issue. If you can’t get the snap from the center, you can’t play quarterback."

Daniels gave Fields a pass for one of his sacks, putting the blame on George Pickens. The seond one, however, he put on the quarterback, as Fields went down for a loss of seven on 3rd and 6.

"You can’t take a sack here. Throw it away. This is field-goal range,” Daniel said. “When No. 1 isn’t open, he struggles to get back to No. 2 and No. 3."

After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin said the negative snaps between Fields and center Nate Herbig overshadowed any positives within the offense. Fields took the blame for both fumbles after the game.

"I thought he did some nice things," Tomlin said. "But obviously he was a component of the C-Q (center-quarterback) exchange and from my perspective that's dual responsibility on the center and the quarterback. It negated a lot of good things going on in that first couple of drives."

Fields is chasing Russell Wilson for the Steelers' quarterback job, as the team continues to allow Wilson to hold the lead, despite missing time for a calf injury. While Fields has impressed during training camp, his performance during the preseason opener may have set him back.

The Steelers believe Wilson will play in the second preseason game, but Fields will still get plenty of action over the next two weeks to try and climb into the starting job.

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Noah Strackbein

NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

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