Madden Monday: 'If Russell Wilson is 100% next week, or close to it, I go with him'

Justin Fields should be applauded for his winning effort on short notice as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback in Atlanta on Sunday.

But should he really be promoted to the starter next week in Denver?

I don’t think so. And in this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive agreed.

“If Russell Wilson is 100% next week, or close to it, I go with him,” Madden said. “I thought Justin Fields played OK (Sunday). He made some plays with his legs. He improvised and rushed for 57 yards. But I don’t think he was spectacular. I don’t think he did enough to steal Russell Wilson’s job, not least when they’re headed to Denver, where Russell Wilson would be playing against his old employer in a perceived revenge game. So, yeah, I go with Wilson next week.”

That angle of returning to Denver is no small thing. As team-oriented and dismissive of any individual agenda as Wilson has been, I imagine he’d see returning to Denver as a backup as quite a slight.

After all, Denver is already paying Wilson close to $38 million to play for the Steelers. That’s embarrassing enough as it is. Now, factor in the idea of having to wear a ball cap and hold a clipboard as the No. 2 to Fields. The Steelers might lose him emotionally if that happens.

“I don’t want to say totally,” Madden said of the potential of Wilson emotionally checking out if he’s benched next week. “But, put it this way, if it was me, I’d be hacked. Because it’s not like Fields did so much that Wilson deserved to be benched based on the individual quarterbacking performance.”

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Looking at the numbers, that’s true.

In a lot of ways, Fields was just fine. He wasn’t guilty of any turnovers. He was 17 for 23, only took two sacks, and rushed for 57 yards.

But he only managed 156 yards despite a couple of deep connections with George Pickens, had a few more bad snap exchanges with center Zach Frazier, and the few incompletions he had were pretty bad missed throws.

Oh, and even though the Steelers won 18-10, they totaled all those points on six field goals.

“For those who support how Justin Fields played, yeah, he was all right,” Madden emphasized. “But they didn’t score a touchdown. You’re not going to win many games — or enough games — in this league if you don’t score a touchdown.”

Also in the podcast, Madden and I talk about the defensive effort against the Falcons, the officiating, some of Mike Tomlin’s coaching decisions and Pat Freiermuth’s new contract.