The Pittsburgh Steelers have designated Russell Wilson as their emergency third quarterback for the fifth straight week and will start Justin Fields against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
This is not a surprise, as Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said earlier this week that they were preparing to start Fields against the Cowboys.
Wilson has yet to play this season as he works through a preseason calf injury.
The Steelers originally tabbed Wilson as their starting quarterback after both passers underwhelmed during the preseason, but have started Fields amid Wilson’s injury.
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Wilson is getting closer to a return from his injury and began increasing his participation in practice this week.
“It seems like [Wilson] is in a place where his participation is going to pick up some in terms of a practice setting, a live pocket if you will,” Tomlin said earlier this week, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.
“We won’t draw too many conclusions, but we’ll just start that process, and we’ll comb through that day by day, evaluate his ability to move and function and protect himself and evaluate his level of productivity.”
“We’ll let that be our guide in terms of whether we get into serious consideration as we push forward toward game time this week.”
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Tomlin has yet to declare who will be the full-time starting quarterback once Wilson is healthy again, though Fields has gotten off to a strong start this season. Fields has led the Steelers to a 3-1 record to begin the season. Fields has not necessarily played incredibly, but he has helped the Steelers start 3-0.
Fields has thrown for 830 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception entering Sunday’s game. He has also rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns. He has shown improvement from his time with the Chicago Bears when he was more turnover-prone and inconsistent.
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Fields have come through for the Steelers in the fourth quarter over the last two games. Against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3, Fields led the team on two scoring drives in the fourth quarter, bringing them to a 20-10 win.
The following week against the Indianapolis Colts, Fields scored three touchdowns in the second half to almost pull off a big comeback victory. The Steelers could not pull off the full comeback and lost 27-24 to Indianapolis.
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