Justin Fields' best play on Sunday doesn't appear on the official stat sheet. But those who watched saw the play that showcases Fields' potential as the Pittsburgh Steelers' possible quarterback of the future.
The play was a gorgeous 51-yard lob from Fields to George Pickens midway through the second quarter. A holding penalty on tackle Broderick Jones wiped the play out, but it didn't take away from the play or Fields' performance in Pittsburgh's 13-6 road win over the Denver Broncos. Fields won his second consecutive start on Sunday while playing in relief of injured teammate Russell Wilson.
"We did enough to win," Fields told CBS Sports' Aditi Kinkhabwala afterward. "I don't think we played good enough offensively. Our defense played great, came up with some big stops, but still have some work on the offensive side of the ball in terms of not shooting ourselves in the foot, self inflicted wounds with penalties and stuff like that. Overall, we did a good enough job to get the win."
For a second straight week, Fields' stats don't jump off the page. But he once again had a solid completion percentage (65%), took care of the ball and led his team to more points than his counterpart, who on this day was rookie Bo Nix, who threw two interceptions that included a crucial one in the end zone late in the third quarter.
Sunday's game included Pittsburgh's first touchdown of the 2024 season that capped off one of its best drives in the post Ben Roethlisberger era. The 12-play, 78-yard drive included a third-down completion from Fields to Pickens that moved the chains, a 16-yard run by Fields on the following play, a 14-yard completion to tight end Pat Freiermuth and Fields' 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darnell Washington.
Mt. Washington 🫡
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 15, 2024
📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/If8tOgDbEV
What made the drive even more impressive was the fact that Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was bringing the house in an attempt to rattle Fields. While the pressure did force him to make quick decisions, Fields responded by stepping up and attacking the areas of the field that Denver left open. Fields, who took more risks than he did last Sunday, was largely rewarded for his increased aggressiveness.
On Pittsburgh's second scoring drive, Fields completed a clutch third-down pass to Calvin Austin III before an apparent touchdown pass to Pickens was wiped out due to a penalty. The Steelers' only points of the second half were the result of a perfectly thrown deep pass from Fields to Pickens that resulted in a 37-yard gain via a pass interference penalty.
Similar to last week's 18-10 win in Atlanta, the Steelers offense left some plays and points out on the field in Denver. The penalties hurt, and Fields once again had a mismanaged snap exchange with center Zach Frazier that could have been costly. But just as they did in Atlanta, the offense ran the ball well (gaining 141 yards on 36 carries, with Najee Harris leading the way with 69 yards on 17 carries) dictated the game's pace, controlled the ball for the majority of the game and didn't put their defense in bad spots.
"I think I did," Fields said when asked if he made positive strides on Sunday. "But like I said, you can make those great plays and they get taken away by those penalties. So we need to get rid of those penalties and then we'll really be cooking."
And just like they did in Atlanta, the Steelers defense and special teams rose to the occasion. Second-year cornerback Cory Trice came up with a huge pick of Nix in the end zone after the Broncos gained 49 yards on a trick play. The defense then came up with two big red zone stops before recently signed punter Corliss Waitman drilled a 54-yard punt in the game's final seconds to all but ice the win.
"Makes my job easy," Fields said of playing with Pittsburgh's defense, a group that includes perennial Pro Bowlers T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick. "The biggest thing going into each week is taking care of the ball because, most likely, our defense is going to get takeaways. ... They're great players. They definitely make the offense's job easier, for sure."
It wasn't perfect, and it's safe to say that the Steelers won't be able to win like this all year, but they won't and shouldn't apologize about being 2-0 for the first time since 2020. Nor should Fields, who took yet another step in his case to be the Steelers' starting quarterback moving forward.
