If there really is a quarterback competition for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it should still be open after Saturday night.
Russell Wilson got his first preseason action with the Steelers after being shut out last week. The offense struggled with Wilson in the game.
The Steelers had four punts and a missed field goal on Wilson’s five drives Saturday against the Buffalo Bills. Justin Fields took over just before the two-minute warning of the first half. Wilson finished 8-of-10 for 47 yards, with many of those yards coming on three third-down passes that were well short of first downs. It wasn’t a pretty outing.
Wilson had a couple of third-down sacks. One problem Wilson had with the Broncos was holding the ball too long and taking too many sacks. That will frustrate the Steelers coaching staff if it continues. Both of those sacks ruined drives and led to punts. On the Steelers first four drives, they had 12 net yards, one first down, four punts and didn’t go past their own 34-yard line.
Fields also gets too many sacks, but at least he can make up for it by fighting for big wins. That used to be a big part of Wilson’s game, but it’s diminished over the years.
Fields immediately showed his rushing ability to give the Steelers their first points. In the final minute of the half, he ran for 20 yards. After a 5-yard completion, Chris Boswell kicked a 43-yard field goal. That ended up being Pittsburgh’s only score in a 9-3 loss.
Fields had seven consecutive completions and the offense seemed to have a better tempo with him in the game. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked better than when Wilson was in the game. We’ll see if that matters at all to the Steelers coaching staff with just one preseason game left. Fields was 11 of 17 for 92 yards and also had 42 yards rushing. Both he and Wilson had five drives.
One play got the Steelers crowd going. Fields got wrapped up for a sack, somehow got out, adjusted his helmet as he rolled to his left and hit Dez Fitzpatrick for 19 yards down the sideline. It was the Steelers’ most exciting offensive play of the night.
In the season opener, Wilson sat out with a calf injury suffered early in training camp. Fields played reasonably well, but a few fumbled snaps overshadowed his positive plays. At least the offense moved a little bit in that game.
The Steelers did little against the Bills defense with Wilson in the game. Wilson was content to check too much, or he took sacks. Three times on third-and-long, he hit a short pass that just missed the first-down marker.
After an interception by Steelers safety Miles Killebrew, the offense showed a little life, but not enough. Wilson hit Van Jefferson for an 11-yard gain on third-and-2. A deep pass down the sideline to George Pickens was nearly reeled in, but it was just out. On third down, it was another pass that missed the sticks, but it put Boswell in better position for a field goal. Boswell missed it, however, and hit it into the post.
Wilson has been the favorite to start since signing with the Steelers. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin called it a competition, but all signs pointed to Wilson as the Week 1 starter. That’s not an exciting proposition after what we saw in Wilson’s first preseason snaps for the Steelers.
