Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields has continuously garnered praise from opponents throughout the season, and the Las Vegas Raiders are no exception.
Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham spoke about Fields’ IQ in addition to how dangerous he is as a runner and the different ways in which teams have to game plan for a player of his style and caliber.
“I’m always impressed with young guys when they graduate to the point where at the line of scrimmage, they’re able to get in and out of checks,” Graham said. “He has a big arm and his ability to make plays when people are around him, when he’s throwing the ball, like you’ve got to wrap this guy up. I’m not saying it’s Ben Roethlisberger, like that was a whole tackling plan for him back in the day, but he could get rid of the ball from different angles with people around him. You’ve got to get his arm down. And obviously as a runner, when the play breaks down, he can make some plays, especially in the red area. You see that in the red area, his ability to say, ‘Okay, it’s not there,’ he goes. And we know that as a defense that most quarterbacks, there’s a certain level of them being fearless to run the ball down there in the red, so we’ve got to be ready for that.”
Graham’s sentiment strikes a similar tone to previous comments made by other coaches around the league, providing a glimpse into just how well-respected Fields has become.
The 25-year-old signal caller has shown considerable growth, particularly as a passer, since joining the Steelers in a trade from the Chicago Bears in March. He’s thrown for 961 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception while being responsible for just four turnover-worthy plays, according to Pro Football Focus.
Fields has also excelled from an analytical perspective through the first five games of the year. He owns the sixth-best completion percentage over expected (4.3%) and the 15th-highest expected points added per play total (0.083) among qualified players at the position, per rbsdm.com.
He’s still been productive with his legs as well, posting 172 rushing yards and three touchdowns over 44 attempts while exhibiting an innate ability to extend plays outside of the pocket.
Las Vegas offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who coached Fields under that same title with the Bears in 2022 and 2023, had nothing but positive things to say about his demeanor and attitude towards the game, a trait that Steelers players and coaches have also commended him for.
“Justin is an incredible guy,” Getsy said. “I mean, just an incredible competitor, great teammate. I can only imagine that those guys love playing for him. And yeah, he’s a competitor, so he’s going to bring it every single play. He doesn’t have any back down. There’s no excuses with that guy. That guy goes and balls, and so it’ll be great to see him. I know that our defense will have a big challenge going up against him.”
