Steelers' Mike Tomlin Had Dan Orlovsky Fooled About Pittsburgh's QB Competition: "We Were Bamboozled"

The Pittsburgh Steelers finished out their preseason at 0-3. While the offense saw their struggles in the first two games, they came alive in Detroit for the finale. Many questions have been directed towards the quarterback position and who is going to lead the offense in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons. Head Coach Mike Tomlin has kept a firm mindset that Russell Wilson will be their guy, but with the flashes that Justin Fields was showing throughout the offseason, some members of the national media started to ask if there could be a quarterback battle brewing?

On ESPN's Get Up Monday morning, former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who has been vocal about starting Fields over Wilson from what he has seen in the preseason, seemed to think a quarterback battle developed in Pittsburgh. It seems that Tomlin is sticking with what he has said from the beginning however; it's likely Wilson's job to start the season. 

"I would have started Justin Fields, but this was never a quarterback competition. We were bamboozled a little bit. I have endless amounts of respect for Mike Tomlin. There's no way that this is a quarterback competition."

Wilson missed a good portion of training camp and the first preseason game due to a calf injury sustained right before camp. Fields took advantage of Wilson's absence by controlling the first-team reps. Fields was gaining a lot of traction with what he was showing throughout training camp with not only his arm, but his ability to gain yards on the ground. The thought of a quarterback battle didn't seem outlandish, especially to Orlovsky. Tomlin even said earlier in the offseason that Fields would have the chance to compete.

In the final preseason game for the Steelers, Wilson only saw one drive in the game where he completed both of his passes for 26 yards (hitting George Pickens for a big 32-yard gain) and Pittsburgh finished the drive off with a 31-yard rushing touchdown up the middle by Cordarrelle Patterson. With him only getting one drive in the Detroit, Orlovsky thinks if this was a quarterback competition, Wilson would have played more in the finale.

"They are banking on the hopeful, more consistency from Russell Wilson, but this was never a quarterback competition. If it was, Russell would have played much more in preseason Week 3 this past weekend."

Fields saw action in three drives in their finale, where the Steelers scored on his first drive via a one-yard rushing touchdown by La'Mical Perine. Fields finished the day with 32 yards passing and just four yards rushing. That was the first touchdown drive led by Fields in the preseason and only the second time he led the Steelers down the field for points. 

While the writing on the wall has always been Wilson as QB1, Fields' improvements he made this offseason will put pressure on Wilson to perform. The Steelers' first-team offense really did not succeed this preseason, so if Wilson cannot get the ball down the field and into the end zone during the regular season, Tomlin will have to reassess the quarterback position. 

Steelers' Decision Likely Had Been Made For Months

While Fields' progression this offseason was fun to watch, Pittsburgh going with Wilson doesn't come much of a shock to those closely watching them this summer. While Wilson didn't see much action from camp to only six drives in preseason, it was enough for the staff to feel confident in their initial decision of Wilson over Fields. Things can obviously change if Wilson can't get the job done; he will need to be more efficient than what was seen in the final two games against the Houston Texans and the Lions. Although it hasn't been officially announced, Wilson is likely to get first crack at the team's QB1 standing.

Will Wilson be able to keep the QB1 position throughout the season, or will Steelers' fans see Fields get his opportunity in the near future? Let us know what you think will happen in the comments.

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