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Mike Tomlin’s decision to start a healthy Russell Wilson over Justin Fields in October was an instant success, with the Steelers flashing an improved passing game and jumping out to a 10-3 start.
Since that point, though, the offense — and the season — have unraveled in Pittsburgh. The Steelers finished the regular season on a four-game losing streak, dropping behind the Ravens in the AFC North and entering wild-card weekend as the biggest underdog of any team playing.
Momentum certainly seemed to matter on Saturday night when the Steelers limped through the first half of their wild-card round game against Baltimore, falling behind 21-0 as Lamar Jackson ran wild and the Wilson-led offense struggled.
Here’s a look at why Fields isn’t under center for the Steelers against the Ravens.
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Wilson slowed down late in the season, but he played so well over his first seven starts of the year that Tomlin didn’t appear to consider a quarterback change as Pittsburgh tried to cling to an AFC North lead. Wilson averaged more than 250 yards per game and tossed 12 touchdowns over those first seven starts before averaging just 174.5 yards over his past four outings.
Still, it was enough for Tomlin to stick with the steady veteran hand entering the playoffs, particularly with Wilson still doing a fine job of limiting turnovers.
Faced with a quarterback decision once again after falling behind 21-0 in Saturday’s playoff game, Tomlin again stuck with Wilson. While Fields could have provided a spark for the Steelers, the team dug itself into such a hole that they had no choice but to pass themselves back into the game and not eat away unnecessary clock. Fields often relies on his mobility, but an offense can only run the ball so much while down by three touchdowns in the second half.
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As much as Wilson struggled in the first half — he finished 7-of-9 for 44 yards — the Steelers’ most glaring issue was its defense, which let Jackson and Derrick Henry completely take over the game. Henry rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown in the first half, while Jackson ran for 64 yards and threw for another 144 yards and two touchdowns.
No quarterback has much of a chance at winning under those circumstances, and Tomlin likely realized switching to Fields would just be similar to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic if the Steelers’ defense couldn’t pull itself together and give the offense a fighting chance.
Fields went 4-2 as a starter in place of an injured Wilson at the start of the season, throwing for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception.
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