Steelers' Zach Frazier Made A Critical Error In The Preseason Finale As Described By Justin Fields

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense has been a bit of an up and down experience throughout training camp and the 2024 preseason. The first two preseason games were rough, but in the preseason finale, both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields led touchdown drives. Fields began to look impressive during training camp while he was filling in for Wilson (while the veteran was dealing with a calf injury), but his preseason debut as a Steeler left a lot to be desired. He fumbled two snaps, and took some unnecessary sacks. He had a snap miscue in the preseason finale as well. 

Fields' snaps issues in the first preseason game came when he was working with Nate Herbig, but in the preseason finale, it was with rookie Zach Frazier. Fields was lined up in shotgun, and he looked unprepared for the snap as it flew past his head and hit the ground. He was able to recover the ball and attempted to run through a ton of tacklers. The play killed the drive. He spoke with the media after practice on Tuesday, and gave some insight as to what happened on the play.

"It was kind of crazy, what happened. I changed the protection, we were going on silent count. I changed the protection, the left guard, Spencer [Anderson], he heard me change it, but Zach [Frazier] didn't hear me change it. We used silent cadence, the guard to tap, when Spencer heard that, Zach didn't hear me, he was telling him that I said that. So he tapped him, Zach's not thinking that he is telling him what the protection was, Zach is thinking it's the indicator for the snap, and that's kind of what happened on that."

A silent cadence in football is usually done when the away team is having trouble hearing one another. Spencer Anderson would tap Frazier when Fields is ready for the snap, and Frazier would snap the ball. In this instance Anderson was just trying to inform Frazier of the change in protection, and it was a classic case of miscommunication. Thankfully, the ball hit Fields before hitting the ground, or else it would have likely gone into the end zone. 

The blame for this play is split amongst the three players involved. Fields should have been louder, or walked up to his offensive line so they could all hear him properly. Anderson should have found a different way to communicate with Frazier, rather than doing it in the same way that says the offense is ready to snap the ball. Frazier should never have snapped the ball if he was unaware of what the protection was.

Once an offensive unit has more time to gel together, this type of mistake wouldn't happen, but these guys are still getting used to playing with one another at this point of the preseason. To a casual fan, the mistake seems to rest solely on the shoulders of Frazier, but there is often a lot more that goes into a play like this, as Fields explained. This is the type of error Pittsburgh can't have in the regular season, so it was a good learning experience for the rookie center.

Steelers Need Their Offensive Line To Grow Their Chemistry

Pittsburgh has a lot of young guys that are expected to play on their offensive line during the 2024 season. Frazier has already been announced as the starting center, and rookie Troy Fautanu is expected to start early on in the season once he returns to full health. Second-year player Broderick Jones will also likely start, as he has been bouncing between both tackle spots.

The Steelers need to prioritize getting their ideal starting five on the field together, so that they can grow their chemistry and gel together. Two newcomers will be on the offensive line, and Jones will eventually be in a new position at left tackle. It cannot be overstated how important it is that they all get used to playing together so that the run game and pass game can excel.

What do you think about the miscommunication in the preseason finale? Let us know in the comments below!

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