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Brooke Pryor, ESPN writer
PITTSBURGH — For all the positives from Justin Fields’ debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the team’s preseason opener Friday night, two plays overshadowed the quarterback’s performance.
A fumbled snap exchange on each of Fields’ first two drives thwarted the Steelers’ first outing of the year, and those mistakes were just part of a sloppy 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans.
“I thought he did some nice things,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “But he was obviously part of the CQ trade, and from my perspective, it’s a double whammy for the center and the quarterback. It negated a lot of good things that happened in those first two offenses.”
Fields played three series, completing 5 of 6 attempts for 67 yards, but in addition to the fumbles, he was tackled twice.
The first fumble came on the opening drive as the Steelers were crossing midfield. The miscue between Fields and center Nate Herbig cost the team four yards on first down. The team was unable to recover the ball, and punted three plays later.
On the next drive, the first snap was another fumble. This time, the ball was recovered by fullback Jack Colletto for a 4-yard gain, but the Steelers still went three and out as Fields ran for 2 yards before being tackled by Danielle Hunter for an 8-yard loss.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Fields said. “We lost the ball, I think in all three phases, so we can definitely be better in that part.
“And I think when it comes to shooting, we just have to be on the same page. I’m going to take it upon myself to be on the same page and know who’s in that center or how to adapt and what I need to do.”
Herbig, however, took “100 percent” responsibility after the match.
With Fields out, third-string quarterback Kyle Allen finished the game for the Steelers, completing 17 of 23 attempts for 193 yards.
Against the Buffalo Bills in the second preseason game next week, the Steelers are likely to add another quarterback to the team.
In his postgame press conference, Tomlin said he expected Russell Wilson to be available for the next game. With Wilson sidelined Friday as he continues to recover from a calf injury, Fields was announced as the starter and ran toward a sea of Terrible Towels as his name was called.
“It was cool,” Fields said. “I think our uniforms are really cool. I liked the black and yellow, the black and gold, so it was great to put the new clothes on and have a new stadium, have a new feel.”
Although the Steelers’ early attacks stalled, Fields showed flashes of his playmaking ability by completing his first five attempts, including a 20-yard dart to receiver Van Jefferson.
“I feel like we’re in a good rhythm, and I think we’ve been moving the ball well,” Fields said. “I think fumbled snaps, those kinds of things, can ruin an entire offense, but I think the overall rhythm of things, I think we’re getting in and out of the huddle quickly and we’re feeling good.”
His only miss was another deep ball to Jefferson that was ruled out of bounds, but Fields thought the receiver had completed the catch.
“Yeah, I thought he was in bounds,” Fields said. “I’m not going to lie.”
And for Fields and the offense, Friday was also the first chance to work with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The offense scored just 12 points, but it rushed for 344 yards, 19 first downs and 109 yards — and averaged 6 yards per play.
“You can get a sense of what Arthur thinks, how he approaches the game, how he communicates with you on the field and that kind of thing,” Fields said. “So it was good to be around them and get a real game experience with him.
“…I think the overall process went well and the logistics of everything went well.”
