PITTSBURGH — In the days leading up to Sunday, Mike Tomlin often referenced one of his favorite phrases: Styles make fights.
The Steelers were sure in one against the run-heavy, defense-oriented Los Angeles Chargers at Acrisure Stadium, as they clung to a three-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining.
With the Chargers’ top-ranked defense and the Steelers’ second-ranked unit in the same game, perhaps a defensive struggle was inevitable. But with the outcome in the balance, Steelers quarterback Justin Fields felt receiver Calvin Austin III moving into a soft spot in the Chargers’ quarters coverage and let it rip.
Austin reeled it in and took off, using his 4.3 speed to outrun defenders for a 55-yard touchdown that clinched a 3-0 start for the Steelers.
JUSTIN FIELDS TO CALVIN AUSTIN III. 55-YARD TD.
📺: #LACvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/IyvXrXm1pU— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024
“Boy, I was tired. I won’t lie on that. I was feeling it,” Austin said with a smile after the game. “I saw the end zone. I knew I was gonna get there.”
The perfect strike from Fields was the exclamation point on his most-prolific passing performance as a Steeler, as he continues to play within the confines of the offense and do enough to keep the wins coming.
Through the first two games, the Steelers were careful not to ask Fields to do too much. Under first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, they mostly relied on a run-heavy attack, a lot of low-risk passes outside the numbers and a few well-timed deep shots. That formula, paired with Pittsburgh’s suffocating defense, got them past the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos.
“He’s doing an awesome job doing what we’re asking him to do,” Tomlin said after the game.
What the Steelers asked Fields to do changed on Sunday. He went from a QB tasked with simply not losing games behind a conservative gameplan to one who needed to be a driving force in the win. Not only did the Chargers have the stats on defense (limiting opponents to a league-best 6.5 points per game through two weeks), they also had a scheme that relied heavily on a two-deep shell that significantly limits deep-ball opportunities.
One way to get the Chargers out of that two-deep look would have been to pound the football on the ground and force L.A. to bring another defender into the box. However, with tackle Troy Fautanu on IR and Isaac Seumalo still recovering from a pec injury, the Steelers were missing two of their top run-blockers. That’s part of the reason the Steelers largely spun their wheels in the ground game early on. They went three-and-out on three of their first four drives. By halftime, Pittsburgh ran the ball nine times for just 14 yards, a 1.6 yard-per-carry average.
“Coach T challenged us at halftime to play better and be better,” Fields said. “We came out second half and did just that.”
Trailing 10-7 at halftime, the Steelers leaned on Fields more than they have at any point this season to lead the comeback.
Through the first two games, Fields completed a total of 30 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. On Sunday, the combination of the Steelers’ lack of success on the ground and the Chargers’ two-deep shell forced Fields to beat one of the NFL’s best defenses through the air. He completed 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Fields also ran the ball six times for six yards and a touchdown.
“We knew they were going to give us completions on first and second down, kind of keep the shell over the top,” Fields said. “They don’t really want big plays. So they kind of play off and soft, so we knew completions were going to be there on first and second down.”
The Chargers’ two-deep shell forced Justin Fields to be efficient on underneath passes and accurate over the middle when trying to attack between the two safeties. He did a nice job of both. pic.twitter.com/cqy9PSQYTa
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) September 22, 2024
Fields was accurate on early downs, picking up the necessary yardage to set up manageable third downs. When the Steelers chose to target the middle of the field, Fields was mostly on-time and on-target to fit the ball between the two safeties.
“(We) opened up the pass game a little more,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “They invested in their edges (Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa). So we were trying to attack the middle of their interior of the defense.”
The lone blemish on Fields’ stat line was an interception, when he tried to fit the ball into a tight window to Cordarrelle Patterson, only to have it tipped in the air and intercepted. Fields acknowledged after the game he shouldn’t have tried to force it into such a tight spot.
In spite of the miscue, the timely completions bought time for the running game to find its footing. Meanwhile, the defense took over. The Steelers limited the Chargers to negative-five yards in the second half, forced starting quarterback Justin Herbert out of the game and continually harassed backup Taylor Heinicke. Pittsburgh’s defense has now held opponents to a league-low 8.7 points per game.
“The whole conversation going into this week was who has the better defense? Who’s gonna stop the run?” Joey Porter Jr. said. “I feel like we did both today.”
While the dominant defensive performance shows the Steelers don’t need dominance on offense, and the sub-par rushing numbers the first three quarters reveal Pittsburgh still has work to do if it wants to play its preferred style, the game also showed that Fields is continuing to make his case for more trust from the coaching staff.
Of the three games Fields has played, this one was his strongest statement he’s made to keep the starting job — that’s based on the quality of the opponent and his steady hand in the face of early-game adversity. Russell Wilson’s calf injury, while disappointing for him, may have been a silver lining for the Steelers, allowing them to see if they can be the team that gets the most out of Fields. After the game, Fields said he’s “grown a lot” over the past year and can feel himself getting more confident and comfortable in the Steelers’ scheme.
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“I feel like I’m just very calm out there,” Fields said. “Cool, calm and collected on the field. Really, just that sense of peace out there on the field. Not really rushing things internally in my brain. Just staying calm in the pocket and just making plays when I can.”
It remains to be seen if Wilson’s lingering calf injury will allow him to be part of the conversation this week. But based on the way Fields performed on Sunday and the 3-0 record, it would be hard to make a switch at this point.
We’ll see if he can keep it that way.
“At the end of the day, it’s not just me winning games, it’s the whole team,” Fields said. “I’m just happy to be a part of this team, happy to be a part of this organization. We definitely look forward to keeping it going next week.”
(Top photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
