Russell Wilson‘s unit played for a clinical but brief 2-minute-and-13-seconds-long play on the gridiron on the preseason finale on Saturday. But that was all Head Coach Mike Tomlin needed to see and state “Nothing has changed.” Wilson is still in “pole position” after the QB’s lone series, just as he was in the Spring. And why not? The QB completed both his passes, including a 32-yard completion to WR George Pickens to score the Steelers their first touchdown of the preseason.

Yes, the Steelers didn’t win against the Lions (24-17), but there were too many crumbs left on the gridiron to count. Sports analyst and former NFL player Chris Simms knew what was going through Tomlin’s mind when he dramatically pulled Wilson out after the scoring drive. He quipped, “Only bad things can happen here now.”

Sunday Night Football on NFL on NBC had Chris Simms and Connor Rogers. Simms explained it by saying that when WR George Pickens was pulled from the game, “that’s when I knew Russell Wilson was a starter. Russell Wilson, of course, I felt like he had the inside pole position. I get that but one good series, they scored a touchdown, they are like, ‘only bad things can happen here now’.”

Well, it wasn’t something the Steeler Nation couldn’t have anticipated. Leading up to the game, Tomlin had clarified that he wouldn’t risk his QBs in Justin Fields and Wilson for too long and that he needed just enough incentive to see what they could pull off while giving the backups enough plays to compete for roster spots. Unlike Wilson, who was pulled after taking the Steelers 60 yards on five plays in 2:13, Fields was deployed in all three series of the preseason where he led a scoring drive of his own behind the first-team offensive line.

In Pittsburgh’s preseason game against the Lions, wide receiver George Pickens had a mixed start, but he quickly made up for it. On his first catch, he lost six yards. But then, he followed it up with a 32-yard gain on a perfect deep pass from Russell Wilson before he was taken out of the game. Simms noted, “So that’s a first clue, and then Pickens coming out of the game with him, right? if it was a real competition, I would have gone Oh They’ll leave Pickens … out there for Fields.” This move confirmed for the ex-Broncos player that the team is locking in Wilson and Pickens as their go-to duo. He further added, “Fields really is a good backup, but yeah, I expect them to name Russell Wilson the starter at some point this week.”

It looks like the NFL pundits have foretold the fate of the Steelers, but when can we finally hear it officially? Tomlin has dropped a timeline for this too!

“We’ll make a decision at the end of our work week,” Tomlin said after the preseason game against the Lions. “This upcoming week we have three days of Steelers vs. Steelers work and why not do it then? It minimizes the Steelers versus Steelers work when we started making decisions prior to the completion of that. We’ve got ample time to prepare for Atlanta and make whatever decisions or announcements regarding divisional labor or pecking orders and so forth and so we’ll do it at the end of the work week.”

Regardless, Fields has a positive outlook. Before the game against the Lions, he stated that he has shown what he can do on the field. “I think the time that I did have with the [first team] practicing in training camp, I think that went well. I think we grew a lot each and every day, but at the end of the day, it’s not up to me.

Meanwhile, coach Tomlin revealed why he let Wilson play just five snaps in the preseason final.

Coach Mike Tomlin “just needed results”

The coach only needed a few plays to confirm what many expected. He gave both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields a chance. Wilson, in his brief time on the field in the preseason final, led the Steelers to a touchdown. He also made five plays, a deep pass to George Pickens, and a powerful run by Cordarrelle Patterson. This was probably enough for Tomlin to pull Wilson out right after. But why?

Because it was clear Wilson was in control. The HC expressed, “We just needed results that are indicative of how we’ve worked. And so they were able to put together a score and drive and really just provided an opportunity to get Justin in there sooner, and so that’s why we did it.”

So, once the team hit the end zone, Tomlin didn’t need to see more. It was the time to give Fields a chance. In the game, Fields showed his potential by leading a scoring drive. However, he also had some hiccups in between–a fumbled snap, a sack–that wasn’t perfect for sure, but he still made an impact. Talking about his mistakes, Fields noted, “They did all right, but there’s also room to grow. So just going to look at the mistakes that we had and what plays we could have done better on and get better.”

Despite the Steelers losing 24-17 to the Lions, coach Tomlin was happy to see both his quarterbacks playing well. Praising Wilson and Fields, he expressed, “They both moved the ball. They won possession downs. They were able to put the ball in the end zone. Things that we hadn’t done to this point sufficiently enough in the preseason.”

Now, fans will have to wait for the coach’s decision. What do you think will happen? Let us know in the comments below.

You can also watch our The Dual Threat Show with BG12, where Chris Gronkowski joined to share insights about his NFL journey, and other things.