Cowherd: Justin Fields Just A ‘Placeholder’ Quarterback

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in line to start Justin Fields again in Week 2 while Russell Wilson continues to rehab his calf injury. While Fields led Pittsburgh to a win in Week 1, Colin Cowherd doesn’t think that the quarterback is anything special. On The Herd today, Cowherd compared Fields to Seattle Seahawks QB Geno Smith as “placeholder” quarterbacks and said both Pittsburgh and are Seattle are just waiting for the next guy.

“The Steelers crack me up,” he said. “The Steelers say they’re excited about Justin Fields starting in Week 2. He could become the next Geno Smith. For the record, I have friends in Seattle. I’m from the Pacific Northwest. Geno’s winning nine games, no playoff wins. Everybody knows they’re waiting for the next quarterback. He’s fine for now. Placeholder. At best, that’s probably what Justin Fields is.”

Cowherd said the Steelers’ defense will only take them so far.

“The defensive culture, come on, it’s not gonna win you, that’s not what the league is now.”

Writing off Fields in Pittsburgh after one game feels a little bit silly. I also don’t know from where Cowherd is pulling the Steelers saying that they’re excited about Fields to start. They haven’t officially named him the starter yet, and while Mike Tomlin praised his performance against the Falcons, there wasn’t anything about them being “excited” to start Fields another week.

There’s no argument that football has trended more to teams with a strong offense having success, but the Steelers’ defense is just so talented that it’s tough to see them not being able to win some games on the strength of their defense alone. You could argue that was the case on Sunday, with the Steelers forcing three turnovers and limiting a new-look Atlanta offense to just 10 points. While it’s going to be more difficult against teams in their division and matchups against the Chiefs and Eagles late in the season, the defense can do enough to keep the game competitive.

Pittsburgh’s game plan on Sunday was methodical and fairly conservative. As the season goes on though, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the playbook get opened up a little bit. Maybe the offense becomes just a bit more explosive, at least enough to keep up with some of the better offenses the Steelers will face when mixed with their stout defense.

So while offense has become more important, I wouldn’t say that Pittsburgh’s defense can’t get it done and win when it matters. But Cowherd has long been a proponent of offensive spending, repeatedly blasting the Steelers for investing too much in their defense, so it’s not a surprising take out of him.