Justin Fields wins 3 games in a row, Steelers shoot Chargers in the foot

PITTSBURGH – Steelers quarterback Justin Fields, who won three straight games for the first time in his career, said he has “grown a lot” this season and feels “definitely more confident.”

The 2021 first-round draft pick ran for a touchdown and threw another in Sunday's 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

“It means a lot, but at the end of the day, it's not just me that wins games, it's the whole team,” said Fields, who started his third game with Pittsburgh as Russell Wilson remains out with a lingering calf injury. “… We're definitely looking forward to getting back to work next week against Indy.”

The Steelers are 3-0 for the first time since the 2020 season, Ben Roethlisberger's penultimate year, when the team started 11-0 before losing four of its final five regular-season games.

Fields avoided the question of whether his current winning streak refutes the critics of his time with the Chicago Bears, where he recorded a record of 10-28 in 38 games over three years.

“I'm not too worried about that,” Fields said. “I'm more concerned with proving to myself what I can do. I know what kind of player I am. I haven't changed my whole life, and at the end of the day, my teammates are what help me be great. So, kudos to them — kudos to our defense, kudos to everyone else on offense for pushing me every day at practice. It's just a credit to them.”

“To be honest, I'm definitely happy and just feel good to be in this position.”

Fields was right when he said it was a win for the entire team. Not only did the offense have its first multi-touchdown game of the season, but the defense recorded five sacks and limited the Chargers to negative net yards in the second half.

They also managed to do it without two offensive linemen in the starting lineup and with outside linebacker Alex Highsmith out at halftime with a groin injury.

“We knew it was going to be a fun game,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “They play great defense. We played great defense. We had to challenge our defense to out-play theirs. I thought they did that.”

The Steelers shut down the Chargers' running game, holding JK Dobbins, the league's best runner, to 44 yards on 15 attempts. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers got their own running game going in the second half against the NFL's stingiest defense, as Najee Harris rushed for 67 yards on 14 carries in the final two quarters.

Even their smallest wide receivers contributed a lot, as Fields targeted Scotty Miller and the speedy Calvin Austin III and used the middle of the field for big gains, including Austin's 55-yard touchdown.

After leading 173-112 in the first half, the Steelers turned the tables in the second half, gaining 234 yards and holding the Chargers to minus-5 yards on offense.

“We knew what kind of game we were going to have, and we knew we didn't play well enough in the first half,” Fields said. “We made a couple mistakes in the first half, and we knew we were better. So Coach T challenged us at halftime to play better and be better, and that's exactly what we did in the second half.”

Fields had an interception in the third quarter – his first turnover of the season – and was sacked twice, but he finished the game completing 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards – his most passing yards so far this season.

He admitted that he felt more comfortable with each passing week after Sunday's win.

“When I look at the field, I just feel very calm out there,” Fields said. “Cool, calm and collected on the field, and really just that feeling of peace out there on the field and not really rushing things in my head.”

Fields' teammates have also noticed this growth.

“He continues to grow,” right tackle Broderick Jones said. “I feel like people think he doesn't know as much as he actually knows just because he's a young player. In Chicago, he always had to rely on himself and try to make the big plays. But here, I think he has more time to settle down and really break down or pick apart a defense.”

“Once he starts throwing it over their heads and we start executing it, the game is over at that point.”