The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New York Jets on Sunday in a matchup full of storylines. Most of them revolved around the two starting quarterbacks, each facing their former teams. The Steelers’ new quarterback played well, with his four touchdowns stealing the win and the majority of the headlines. However, Alex Highsmith also gave some credit to Justin Fields.
“He’s such a dynamic quarterback, he’s a great player,” Highsmith said on NFL Network’s The Insiders on Tuesday. “He was able to roll out a couple times to get a touchdown, and then just climb up in the pocket. ‘Cause we had him, had him in there a couple of times, but he was able to get out of there. He definitely had a good game against us.”
Although the Jets lost, Fields had quite the debut. As a passer, he was very consistent. Fields completed 16 of his 22 attempts, throwing for 218 yards and a touchdown. However, he also made the Steelers pay as a runner. He saw a healthy amount of carries with 12, and picked up 48 yards. While he only had that one touchdown through the air, he did score two with his legs. It was about as solid a debut as he could have asked for in New York.
In many ways, it seemed like he built upon his time in Pittsburgh. Justin Fields won four games with the Steelers with a similar approach. He took care of the ball and didn’t take too many risks while still completing a high percentage of his throws. He’s also shown some growth after a tough start in the league, as he’s more comfortable relying on his legs when things break down rather than forcing a bad throw.
Fields exposed some of the Steelers’ weaknesses defensively. Juan Thornhill claimed his unit could be the best ever back in training camp, but they sure didn’t look like it on Sunday. Pittsburgh had no idea how to defend a mobile quarterback, and they couldn’t stop the Jets on the ground.
Each of those will have to improve. Maybe the familiarity between the two sides played a role, but Justin Fields certainly surprised the defense. We’ll see if the unit can start turning things around before their home opener in a few days.
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