The Pittsburgh Steelers played their first preseason game of the 2024 season on Friday night. A lot of excitement has surrounded the team, and the game did nothing but pump the brakes on fans' optimism. Pittsburgh lost at home to the Houston Texans by a score of 20-12. The final score wasn't as concerning as the product that was seen on the field, which seemed nothing but sloppy. There were issues on special teams, and clear problems with the quarterback-center exchange, which resulted in two fumbles.
Harrison Barden / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Justin Fields warms up for his first game with the black and gold in 2024.
The Steelers started Justin Fields as veteran Russell Wilson took the night off due to a precaution for his recent calf injury. Fields played throughout the first quarter, and lined up behind center for three possessions.
He had a decent game throwing the ball, but the main story involving Fields on Friday night was the issues that occurred getting the snap from center Nate Herbig. Fields fumbled the snap twice, each time it was recovered by Pittsburgh. Despite retaining possession, botched snaps are drive killers. Fields was asked about what it was like once rookie center Zach Frazier rotated in on his third possession during his postgame press conference.
"I just don't think, there wasn't any fumbled snaps. Like I said, it's hard to put a drive together when you know, you have a fumbled snap and you're in second and 13 and you're behind the sticks. Like I said, just self inflicted wounds are the only things that hurt us, especially when I was in the game."
Earlier in Fields' press conference, he took the blame for the miscues with Herbig, but this statement shows that Fields might feel otherwise. Fields played his first two drives with Herbig at center, and fumbles happened on each drive. This is something that absolutely cannot happen during the regular season, and it might lead to Frazier claiming the starting spot a little sooner than expected.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Nate Herbig runs out of the tunnel at Acrisure Stadium before the first preseason game of 2024.
To a casual NFL fan, a fumbled snap when the quarterback is under center might seem like an obvious error by the quarterback. However, often times this can happen when the center doesn't hike the ball far back enough. Some fault can certainly be placed on both parties, but by the way Fields spoke about the situation it seemed as though he thought it was a mistake by Herbig on each occasion. After all, he didn't have the same issues with Frazier.
Frazier was deemed as ready to start as soon as Pittsburgh selected him in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but Pittsburgh doesn't like to start rookies right away. Herbig has been getting the majority of the reps with the starting unit during practices, but it's possible a change is seen when the Steelers practice next on August 11th.
AP Photo / Matt Freed
Steelers' Justin Fields avoids a pass rusher as he throws the football.
Steelers' Justin Fields Had A Few Blemishes But Showed Promising Play
Fields is currently in a battle with Wilson for the starting job. He has impressed during training camp, but all that matters is whether or not he can carry that success into a stadium. He showed on Friday night that there is still room to grow. There were a few knocks against Fields' play, one of which being the multiple botched snaps. Other than that, it was the sacks. He took two on the night, one coming on a third down where he probably should have escaped, but he was blindsided by a defender.
When Fields had time to throw the ball he looked good. He had five completions in six attempts which went for 67 yards. His one incompletion was a ball that was caught by Van Jefferson, but the receiver failed to get two feet in bounds. Overall, Fields didn't put the ball in harms way through the air. Considering his history of issues in that regard, things are looking good for Fields in Pittsburgh. There is still a long way to go to overtake Wilson on the depth chart.
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