Week 1 was one thing. Russell Wilson wasn't healthy enough to play. Justin Fields started because of it.
But now, if you were already sick and tired of the quarterback controversy talk in Pittsburgh, it's about to reach a whole new level.
With Wilson still working his way back from injury, Mike Tomlin made it clear in his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex that the Steelers are preparing as if Fields will be the starting quarterback when the team travels to Denver to take on the Broncos.
"I think that's the appropriate way to do it," Tomlin said. "Speculation is a waste of time. Russell's hurt. He's not available to us. As you guys know, as a general practice, I focus my energy on those that are available and their readiness."
Wilson aggravated his calf injury in practice last Thursday, the same one he injured during the conditioning test at the start of training camp. Wilson desperately tried to overcome the setback in time to start in Atlanta, but was not cleared ahead of the Steelers' 18-10 victory over the Falcons.
Tomlin said Wilson is feeling better than he did over the weekend, but that he isn't scheduled to participate "in totality" on Wednesday and will be evaluated after that.
Pretty much everything Tomlin said Tuesday hardly left the door ajar for Wilson to potentially start Sunday.
"I know that we're going to take the same approach that we take with a lot of people in terms of injury," Tomlin said. "We'll first start with his participation, his level of participation, his quality of participation. Over the course of the week, we'll be analyzing whether he's capable of protecting himself, whether he's capable of being productive. When we get to those points, that's when we'll ponder his inclusion or not, and when that happens will probably be a component of that equation."
Tomlin made Wilson his starting quarterback 11 days prior to the start of the season, and was clear that Wilson was his "QB1." However, Tomlin declined to acknowledge such designation during his press conference, though he was asked multiple times if Wilson was still his starter when healthy:
"I'm not going to soothe you with hypothetical scenarios. It is my general practice to not," Tomlin said. "You guys that know me know I do not, so why start today because it's the quarterback position or because it's a national story? I am unmoved by some of those narratives, to be quite honest with you. We've got an approach to business. I always stand in front of you guys, when people are somewhat limited, I say we'll push through the work week and let their participation be our guide in terms of whether to include them, and then the quality of that participation.This scenario is no different for me, respectfully. I understand that you have to ask that question, but it doesn't mean that we need to change our position or do things that are abnormal in an effort to answer it. We're just simply going to proceed with what we normally do. Our energies and attention are on those that are available and are scheduled to play. They are deserving of that. When those that are not healthy, we'll ponder it at that time."
Fields has a genuine opportunity to end the quarterback controversy before it can take over the season. As we saw it play out with Mason Rudolph down the stretch last season, if Fields helps the team engineer wins, Tomlin would be hard pressed to make a change.
And, when I asked Tomlin what Fields showed him on Sunday, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive, especially after settling in after a couple center-quarterback exchange issues on the first drive.
"I thought he had clear eyes in weighty moments. I thought he was a good communicator in some of those moments where we had some discussions," Tomlin said. "We had a big third downplay late in the game, third and seven, we had a timeout. We came to the sideline. We talked about leaving the ball in his hands. We bounced around some suggestions. He was a major component of that discussion.We went out. We left the ball in his hands. We had a designed quarterback run. He moved the chains in those circumstances.There was a lot of good. It's just good to be in a stadium with a guy. You're speculating until you are. And I just know a heck of a lot about him because of that experience, and I'm sure he knows more about himself in this environment and us. So it's just really good things to build upon."
While the offense didn't punch the ball into the end zone, Fields did enough to at least put Tomlin in a head space in which he has to be considered for a more extended look. Not only did the team win -- yes, that's part of the evaluation for Tomlin -- Fields completed 73.9% of his passes, completed three big-time throws (the third-most in the NFL), made no turnover-worthy throws and tied for seventh among quarterback in Week 1 in completion percentage above expected (CPOE).
Fields' 6.8 yards per attempt was right above league average for the weekend, and he ranked a very modest 21st in EPA (expected points added) per play, so there's definitely room for improvement. However, Lamar Jackson ranked 18th in EPA per play and Joe Burrow ranked 20th, so Fields was pretty on par with the other AFC North quarterbacks. In fact, his EPA+CPOE composite ranked higher than Jackson, Burrow and Deshaun Watson.
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Either way you slice it, should Fields start Sunday and help the Steelers get to a 2-0 start on the road, that would make any decision-making process by Tomlin much more difficult. Winning games changes everything, especially if Fields is playing a role of any kind in engineering the victories.
The Steelers will take this day by day, with Fields starting off the week as the de facto QB1. While Tomlin said he's looking forward to working with Fields in such capacity, this could be one of the more pivotal weeks in Fields' career.
