Steelers’ Justin Fields: No QB debate if he plays better

PITTSBURGH — Though Justin Fields said he doesn’t know if he or Russell Wilson will start for the Steelers against the New York Jets on Sunday, the quarterback acknowledged Thursday that he hasn’t been good enough in six starts.

“I don’t think I played good enough, if I’m being real with you,” Fields said. “If I’m being real with myself, I think if I did play well enough, I don’t think there would be any sort of who should be playing, who should not.

“At the end of the day, I got a few wins. Of course, I’m glad about that, but there’s areas that I could be better at and I’m just going to continue to work on those and continue to get better.”

Fields went 4-2 in those starts, and though he leads the league’s quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns, the Steelers’ offense ranks 28th in passing and 20th in points per game. Fields’ completion percentage has also regressed to 57% in the past two games after he started out completing 69% of his pass attempts in the first four games.

Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Wilson was “in consideration” to start now that he’s healthy from a lingering calf injury. Wilson, who wasn’t on the practice injury report for the first time all year, took first-team reps and led off the quarterback rotation in individual drills Wednesday.

“I want to be 6-0 right now, but it was a great opportunity for me,” Fields said, asked if he got what he wanted out of his starts. “Of course, I’m grateful for the opportunity. I did get those first six weeks, and we’ll just see what happens this week.”

Fields said that no matter his role in Sunday’s game, his preparation and approach aren’t changing — even if it means coming off the bench for certain packages.

“I’m just doing the same thing I was doing,” he said. “I just do my job at the end of the day, whether that’s playing, helping the guys out on the sideline, telling them what I see, helping Russ out if he’s out there. So just small stuff like that.”

Fields also praised offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who helped Fields reduce the turnovers that plagued him in Chicago. This season, Fields has five passing touchdowns to one interception along with 16 sacks and one lost fumble.

“He just pushed me every day to get better as a quarterback, developmental wise,” Fields said of Smith. “Really just a person, too. I love Arthur. He knows that, and yeah, glad that he’s our OC.”

And though his role may be reduced on Sunday, Fields isn’t ruling out the opportunity to contribute to the team throughout the season. “I think you just never know what happens,” Fields said. “… It’s a long season and life is crazy in general, so you just never know.”