Looks like the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t get the expected start to the pre-season. Fans were hoping for a better showdown, especially from the QBs. And, as usual, it has led to some critical conversations with a lot of speculations on who will be the starting QB for the Steelers. Is it Justin Fields or Russell Wilson? Ex-NFL player Damien Woody thinks Fields is a better choice for the role.

After watching the Steelers’ preseason game (‘tape’) against the Bills, Woody came up with his justifications for his choice. “But who was the one guy that’s dynamic as far as their legs and being able to get out of the situation? That would be Justin Fields, right? And so for me, I look at both of these guys as, okay, who brings something to the table that defensive coordinators gonna have the game plan guess, Justin Fields, he does that,” opined Woody on 22nd August’s episode of GetUpESPN. And he didn’t stop there.

Woody further emphasized that if the OC, Arthur Smith, wished to do better with the QB position, he should utilize Justin Fields for running skills, “I think you put Justin Fields in there, a round of running, a running style attack, that he’s implemented before. To me, that will be the best-case scenario for the Pittsburgh Steelers at a quarterback position.” And Woody isn’t the only one to talk of Fields’ speed. 

As per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Justin has an unofficial 40-yard at 4.44 seconds sprint record under his belt, which ranked as the 2nd-fastest speed for a QB in 15 years.  “Justin Fields brings more good than bad in comparison to Russ,” said Dan Orlovsky earlier this week. So, what actually happened in the game against Bills that everyone wants Russell to take a step back?

Well, the 35-year-old went 8 of 10 for 47 yards in the preseason game against the Bills. While Wilson took two third-down sacks, Fields had multiple sacks with a completion of 11 to 17 passes for 92 yards. Moreover, the 25-year-old QB also had 42 rushing yards under his belt from that game against the Bills. Furthermore, Justin Fields has rushed for 657 yards in 2023, which is nearly double to what Russell Wilson did in 2023. And, it looks like Russell was falling short of speed due to his age, eventually resulting in a 9-3 defeat for the Steelers. 

Even though Woody explained the reason for his choice, it looks like Wilson wasn’t the only reason for the loss.

Steelers’ offense issues besides the Wilson and Fields dilemma

Pittsburgh not only lost their first preseason game against the Texans, the team failed to score a TD on their second pre-season game as well. Although the Steelers’ fans roared at the team’s only score, which came as a 43-yard-field goal from Chris Boswell, the scorer missed a similar opportunity later in the game. Moreover, Van Jefferson was unable to carry well with the 11-yard gain from Wilson as he went out of bounds during the third-and-2. What’s worse is that these problems don’t just end here!

The Bills’ defense stopped Steelers’ guard James Daniels and OT Broderick Jones on various occasions. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the Steelers’ day went worse with RB Jaylen Warren meeting with a hamstring injury during the game. With all these problems piling up, the Russell Wilson and Justin Fields situation seems like the least of HC Mike Tomlin’s worries. With the way thing are going, will the Black and Gold team be able to outperform the Falcons on 8th September?

If you want to find out Chris Gronkowski’s take on his NFL journey, and other things, check out the Dual Threat Podcast with BG12.