PITTSBURGH — For all the positives in Justin Fields’ Pittsburgh Steelers debut in his first preseason game Friday night, two plays overshadowed the quarterback’s performance.
A fumbled snap exchange on each of Fields’ first two drives stymied the Steelers’ first drive of the year, and the fumbles were part of an ugly 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans.
“I thought he did some good things,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “But obviously he was a part of the CQ exchange, and from my perspective it was a dual liability under center and at quarterback. It negated a lot of good things on those first two drives.”
Fields played for three series, completing 5 of 6 attempts for 67 yards, but was sacked twice in addition to fumbling.
The first fumble came on the opening drive when the Steelers crossed midfield. A fumble between Fields and center Nate Herbig cost the team 4 yards on first down. Continuing on three plays, the unit was unable to recover.
On the next drive, the first snap was another fumbled exchange. This time the ball was recovered by fullback Jake Colletto for a 4-yard gain, but the Steelers still went three-and-out as Fields scrambled for 2 yards and then was sacked by Daniel Hunter for 8.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Fields said. “The messy snap, I think in all three phases, so we can definitely be better in that area.
“And the snapping part, I think we’ve got to be on the same page. I’ll put it on myself to be on the same page and know who’s in that center or how to adjust and what I need to do.”
Herbig, however, took the blame “100 percent” after the game.
With Fields out, third-string quarterback Kyle Allen finished the game for the Steelers, completing 17 of 23 attempts for 193 yards.
Next week against the Buffalo Bills in the second preseason game, the Steelers will likely add another quarterback to the mix.
During the postgame news conference, Tomlin said he expects Russell Wilson to be available for the next game. With Wilson sidelined Friday as he works his way back from a calf injury, Fields was announced as the starter and ran into a sea of terrified towels as his name was called.
“It was cool,” Fields said. “I think our uniforms are really cool. I loved the black and yellow, the black and gold, so it was great to wear new threads and get a new stadium, get a new feel.”
Although the Steelers’ early drives stalled, Fields showed off his playmaking ability, including a 20-yard dart to Van Jefferson as he completed his first five attempts.
“I feel like I’ve been in a good rhythm and I think we’re moving the ball well,” Fields said. “Stumbled photos, things like that, I think they kill a whole movement, but I think the overall rhythm is that we’re faster together and feel better.”
His isolation fell incomplete on another deep ball from Jefferson that was pushed out of bounds, but Fields thought the receiver completed the catch.
“Yeah, I thought he was on the borderline,” Fields said. “I’m not going to lie.”
And Friday was also Fields’ first chance to work with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, and for the offense. The offense put up just 12 points.
“You can kind of get a feel for what Arthur’s mindset is, how he goes about the game, how he talks to you and things like that,” Fields said. “It was great, being with them and getting real game experience with him.
“… I think the overall process went well, the logistics of everything went well.”
