Rex Ryan believes that the Pittsburgh Steelers at Justin Fields continue after week 1, even if Russell Wilson is ready to return to the field in Week 2.
In one of the more unexpected results of Week 1, Fields led the Steelers to a road victory over the Atlanta Falcons, in a game where the latter expected to establish themselves as a force in the NFC. That certainly didn’t happen during Kirk Cousins’ debut with the franchise.
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Fields did not throw a touchdown, but the Steelers scored all their points through Chris Boswell’s He managed the game well and made some well-timed throws to put Pittsburgh in good positions. His performance, coupled with Fields’ potential, has Ryan singing the praises of the former Ohio State quarterback and believing in his abilities.
“He should. Absolutely, right now,” Ryan said when asked if Fields should start in Week 2 and beyond, via Stand up“Look, nothing against Russell Wilson, because he’s not healthy right now. So the decision is easy. You know me, I’ve always called this guy the future because I love the skill set of this guy right here. But the future is a whole series of nows, and right now he gets to play again, he gets to play again, and I thought in the offseason, it’s by far the best trade, during the season, for nothing. A sixth-round pick, which was absolutely insane.
“Look, I understand when he came into the league he was a better athlete as a quarterback, so what? That was the same with Steve Young, you know what I mean? That was the same with Randall Cunningham. And you know what? They can still get better. These guys have a tendency to get better. If this guy suddenly strikes, you’ve got a superstar on your hands.”
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While the former coach and current ESPN analyst is concerned about Fields’ place in the Steelers’ lineup, the quarterback himself doesn’t care. After the win, he told reporters he’s not even thinking about who will start next week. He’s only concerned about how to get wins for Pittsburgh, regardless of who the quarterback is.
“I’m not worried about that,” Fields said via NBC. “I just came here wanting to win and I’m glad we’re leaving with a win. It doesn’t matter who competes or who doesn’t, at the end of the day I just want to win.”
When the final whistle blew, Fields’ stats stood at 17/23 for 156 yards while adding 57 rushing yards on 14 carries. He’ll have to get the ball into the end zone in the future, but it was still a solid performance from the quarterback.
It remains to be seen if Mike Tomlin will stick with Justin Fields or if Russell Wilson will return to the starting lineup depending on his health, but the veteran quarterback will definitely prefer to start in Week 2 as he looks for revenge against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.
