It’s been nearly six months since the Bears traded Justin Fields to the Steelers. The deal went down after weeks of speculation that Chicago was going to move on from their once-future quarterback to go with Caleb Williams as the top pick in the draft. Bears’ fans were mixed if they should move on from Fields for Williams at the time and things only got more complicated.
When Pittsburgh acquired Fields, they already signed Russell Wilson in free agency. Their once future at the position, Kenny Pickett, had just been traded after he requested a deal out of the Steel City. Many saw the additions of Wilson and Fields as an upgrade for the black and gold.
There was never a controversy when it came to the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh, but that didn’t mean Fields wouldn’t play.
Special packages were set to be formed for Fields so he and Wilson could get snaps on the field. Many didn’t expect Wilson to suffer a lingering calf injury that would shove Fields into the starting role for the Steelers to open the season. There is a lot left in this story as the Bears hope they got this quarterback decision right from this past offseason.
When you break down the numbers, Fields had a better start than Williams in Week 1 of the regular season. It makes sense as Fields has started 39 games throughout his NFL career while Williams has only played in one game thus far. They have high expectations for Williams as many believe he could be the next great quarterback of the NFL.
Williams had a terrible first game in the NFL when you look at the numbers. The only reason Chicago won was because the Titans blew up on themselves. The Bear’s defense got points, and Williams had little to do with their success. He could always adjust going forward, but that was not the start many expected from the first overall pick.
Fields had a solid start for the Steelers after a will-he or won’t-he approach to whether Wilson would start for Pittsburgh. Fields had respectable numbers, but the most impressive play by him this past game was the lack of turnovers. If he can shake those mistakes out of his system, Fields could become an electric player for the Steelers moving forward.
Don’t get too excited when it comes to Fields because even though Pittsburgh won, the offense only produced field goals. It was a smart approach by the coaching staff to help Fields’ environment on a short notice start.
If the Steelers and Fields want to make the Bears feel worse about this prior trade, they will need to inflate his stats and keep winning.
