Steelers 4 Downs: Justin Fields not asked to do much but has been efficient, mistake free

1. Fields’ freedom

That Justin Fields has improved his completion percentage from 60.3% over three years with the Chicago Bears to 73.3% over three games with the Pittsburgh Steelers is certainly notable. It also, though, has come with the sizable qualification that the Steelers haven’t asked Fields to throw the ball too far downfield, have encouraged him to avoid taking risks and have been in positions (re: with a lead) that lend them to a more conservative posture.

There is certainly something to that: Fields’ 6.0 air yards per attempt and 9.4 yards per completion are both career lows. Only four NFL quarterbacks this season have an average intended pass that is fewer yards downfield, and only seven of 31 qualifying passers have a lower yards per completion.

But with that context, it should be noted that metrics that take that into account still view Fields’ accuracy in a favorable light this season.

NFL Next Gen Stats measures “expected completion percentage” based off receiver separation, distance of pass and other factors. Fields is fourth in the NFL at plus-6.6%.

Pro Football Focus tracks adjusted completion percentage, factoring in drops and intentional incompletions such as spikes. Fields, at 82.9%, is tied for second in the NFL in it. Pro-football-reference.com’s is similar, and Fields ranks eighth at 80.3%.

Furthermore, Fields is sixth in Next Gen’s “air yards differential” (the difference between average attempted air yards and average completed air yards) at minus-1.3%. PFF’s subjective grading has Fields as the fourth-best passer in the league.

Perhaps the best (and most surprising) aspect of Fields’ performance in 2024 is his sack rate (7.4%) and interception rate (1.3%) are precipitously lower than the league-worst numbers he’d been compiling while with the Bears (12.4% and 3.1%, respectively).

2. Three-and-whoa

The Steelers are 3-0 for the fourth time during 18 seasons under Mike Tomlin. They won their first three games of the Bill Cowher tenure in 1992 — but never again began a season 3-0 in his ensuing 14 seasons as coach. Chuck Noll-coached teams won their first three games of a season four times — all within a decade’s span: 1973, 1978, 1979 and 1982. The Steelers started out 3-0 just once (in 1936) over their first 40 seasons in the NFL.

In 91 prior seasons, the Steelers have started 4-0 just four times.

A win Sunday would make the Steelers 3-0 on the road. That’s only happened six times in franchise history: 1975, 1978, 1983, 2005, 2010 and 2020. During four of those occasions, the Steelers went on to play in the Super Bowl.

3. A curtain of Steel?

The Steelers at 71.3 yards allowed per game are No. 2 in the NFL in rushing defense. The eye test will tell you their veteran D-line duo of Cameron Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi is a big reason why. Which analytics outlet you prefer might tell you who between Heyward or Ogunjobi has been the most responsible.

In ESPN’s Run Stop Win Rate metric, Ogunjobi’s win rate of 50% is second-best among all NFL interior defensive linemen.

Prefer PFF grades? They rate Heyward as the best defensive tackle in the league in run defense.

Taking it a step further … among NFL defensive linemen who have played 20-plus snaps against the run, Heyward is third in “stop percentage” (the rate a player’s run defense snaps where he was responsible for a stop). One of the two D-linemen across the league ahead of him? The Steelers’ Isaiahh Loudermilk.

4. Chips ahoy

T.J. Watt has been “chipped” on 44.1% of his pass-rush snaps so far this season, according to PFF data. The second-most chipped player is subjected to it almost half as often: the Denver Broncos’ Jonathan Cooper at 22.9%.

The outlet defines chipping as “when a blocker, usually a running back or tight end, briefly hits an edge rusher to disrupt their path to the quarterback before continuing their assignment.”

Among other Steelers edge rushers through three weeks this season, Alex Highsmith was chipped 11.8% and Nick Herbig 6.5%.