Mike Tomlin informed reporters that he’d be keeping the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision at quarterback “in house” ahead of Sunday night’s game against the New York Jets - that is, until wide receiver George Pickens flung the door wide open .
During Friday’s press conference, Tomlin said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen from both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields , but stopped short of publicly naming which signal-caller would play this weekend . When asked if he’s ready to name a starter, the head coach replied: “I am, but I’m just gonna keep that in house.”
Wilson has yet to take a regular-season snap this year for the Steelers while recovering from a lingering calf injury he reaggrovated on September 5. It appears as though the 35-year-old hasn’t missed a beat, however, with Tomlin adding: “I thought he was sharp, I thought Justin was sharp as well. I thought we had a highly productive week from both guys and from the unit as a whole.”
Though Tomlin’s shrouded comments would suggest otherwise, all signs point to Wilson reclaiming the starting quarterback role on Sunday. Pickens confirmed just as much less than an hour later while speaking to members of the media in the locker room.
Asked if Wilson was taking more practice reps this week since the Steelers were considering playing him in favor of Fields, Pickens divulged: “Yeah, getting on the same page after practice, throwing. More than usual, because this is his first start.”
The Steelers’ decision to bench Fields - should it come to fruition - would come as a bit of a surprise considering his impressive start this year. Over the first six games of the season - four of which Pittsburgh has won - the 25-year-old has completed 106-of-160 passes for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He’s additionally excelled on the ground, rushing for 231 yards and five scores on 55 carries.
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Addressing the rumors surrounding his impending benching, Fields conceded that he could’ve prevented the situation had he played better. "I mean, I don't think I've played good enough, if I'm being real with you," he 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.' We got a few wins - of course I'm glad about that - but there are areas that I could be better at."
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Assessing the play of Fields earlier this week, Tomlin admitted that there’s areas where he can improve. "Justin has been really good, and we've been really good at times, but not to be confused with great," he said.
"This is a competitive league. We're trying to position ourselves to be that team and we got a player with talent who hadn't had an opportunity to play, so we're going to potentially explore those things. Sometimes it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done."
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