Should Steelers Utilize Justin Fields To Help Struggling Offense?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled to create offense over the last two weeks and their latest struggles led them to a tough “Thursday Night Football” loss against the Cleveland Browns.

After taking down the Baltimore Ravens with Chris Boswell’s leg kicking through six field goals, they weren’t able to lean on similar success in the 24-19 loss to Cleveland. It has resulted in more questions than answers for a team that has an 8-3 record and leads the AFC North.

That brings the Steelers to one potential answer: Is Justin Fields the answer to help spark the struggling offense?

Week 11’s game against the Ravens was the first time Steelers fans saw Fields take the field since being replaced by Russell Wilson as the team’s starting quarterback. He is just 0-for-1 since returning to the field, but he’s rushed for 43 yards on five attempts — including a 30-yard rush that helped spark a touchdown drive against the Browns when Jaylen Warren punched it in.

ESPN’s Brooke Pryor brought up important points regarding the Fields-Wilson situation, signaling the success that Fields had in the red zone compared to Wilson, something that could be an answer for the Steelers moving forward.

“While Wilson has still been more effective at moving the ball down the field, Fields has been more efficient in the red zone,” Pryor wrote. “That doesn’t necessarily mean the Steelers should make a wholesale change at quarterback, but it could signal the need to change how and when the Steelers deploy Fields.

“The long-awaited Fields package made its debut against the Ravens and appeared again against the Browns. Though Fields played eight snaps Thursday night, only one was in the red zone, and it resulted in a 3-yard Warren touchdown. His snaps also included a 2-yard loss on fourth down, a pre-snap penalty, a fourth-quarter 30-yard run and a deep third-down incompletion to Pickens that turned into a mishit punt and a short field for the Browns.”

Pryor makes strong points about the Fields package not being a complete success, but it’s ability to lead to a touchdown could signal different usages for it moving forward — specifically in the red zone.

Pittsburgh will try to get back on the winning track this Sunday when they face the Cincinnati Bengals.

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