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Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields Taught Teammate George Pickens A Lesson In Accountability

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Despite a 4-2 start to the season that has them tied atop the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers look set to switch from starting QB Justin Fields to Russell Wilson on Sunday against the New York Jets.

Fields, in his first season with the Steelers, has been solid. He’s completed a career-high 66.3 percent of his passes for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception to go along with 231 rush yards and five more scores, although he also had six fumbles.

But the former first-round pick believes he hasn’t played well enough to secure his starting job.

“You know, I don’t think I played good enough if I’m being real with you,”he said when asked about the change. “If I’m being real with myself, if I did play well enough, I don’t think there would be any sort of (question) who should be playing who should not.”

Fields is right. He played solid football. But he also played unspectacular football. He ranked 22nd in the NFL is passing yards, 25th in passing touchdowns, and 20th in QBR according to ESPN.

Meanwhile, the Steelers rank 26th in yards per game and 20th in points per game.

Justin Fields Takes Different Tone Than Teammate George Pickens After Benching

Maybe Wilson won’t be any better. But you can’t blame Pittsburgh and head coach Mike Tomlin for wanting to find out.

Fields’ honesty and self-reflection are refreshing. It’s also a far cry from the attitude of his teammate, George Pickens. Pickens, the Steelers’ number one wide receiver, has a long history of pointing fingers at everybody else but himself.

Things got so bad at one point last year that Tomlin had to come out publicly and tell Pickens to keep his mouth shut.

Who knows where Fields’ NFL career goes from here? But it appears he has the type of attitude that will keep him in the league for a long time to come.