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With Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ offense struggling mightily down the stretch run of the season, many have wondered if Pittsburgh would consider benching Wilson in favor of Justin Fields.
At the very least, many have wondered if Fields would at least see some snaps in the contest against the Baltimore Ravens. When asked about that during the week, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith sounded open to it.
“No stone left unturned,” Smith said. “It’s what the playoffs are. You’re in a single-elimination tournament. I use that analogy. Let’s burn the boats because you gotta win to stay in, survive and advance.
“So, we’ll use everything at our disposal assuming it’s the proper thing to do.”
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Steelers indeed have some packages prepared for Fields on Saturday night. Whether or not Pittsburgh will actually use them remains to be seen.
“From what I understand, they have prepared packages for Justin Fields to use tonight,” Rapoport stated. “He is finally fully healthy … I think it’s pretty clear Russell Wilson has struggled a little bit.”
“Just hasn’t really run the offense as it needs to be run,” Rapoport added. “So yes, they could potentially use Justin Fields as a spark for their offense. It’s something they’ve considered the last couple of weeks … Could do it tonight.”
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer takes it a step further, saying he expects Fields to play “significant snaps” against Baltimore.
At this point, it wouldn’t hurt to give Fields a look. After all, the Steelers’ offense has been incredibly stagnant of late and Pittsburgh’s backup could offer a spark with his skillset.
But, at the end of the day, the Steelers are going to live or die with Wilson under center. The only way Pittsburgh benches Wilson on Saturday night is if he totally implodes, but at that point it’ll probably be too late.
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