Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin knows his starting quarterback for Sunday night's matchup against the New York Jets but isn't letting the cat out of the bag quite yet.
"I am [ready to name a starter], but I'm just gonna, you know, keep that in-house," Tomlin said Friday. "I thought (Russell Wilson) has sharp. I thought Justin (Fields) was sharp as well. I thought we had a highly productive week from both guys and from the unit as a whole."
After sitting out the first six weeks of the season, Wilson took first-team reps this week during practice and spoke on Thursday like a QB who expects to play on Sunday. Fields helped the Steelers to a 4-2 record, but the offense was admittedly up and down, particularly in the passing attack.
Given Fields' dynamic running ability, the Steelers could use both signal-callers to give the defense a change-up. Tomlin said it's "certainly" possible that each quarterback could play Sunday versus Gang Green.
While Tomlin remained mum, receiver George Pickens could have revealed the team's plans -- or at least offered his own expectation -- telling reporters he's been putting in extra work with Wilson after practices "because this is his first start."
Wilson entered training camp as the clear QB1, but the calf injury curtailed his participation and reared its head again right before Week 1. The injury opened the door for Fields to start the season under center.
It makes sense for Tomlin to play coy on Friday. At the very least, it forces the Jets to prepare for both quarterbacks in the final few days before the Week 7 tilt.
Tomlin said that the resolution on the starter would be his.
"I wear the decisions," he said when asked how much input offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has on the decision.
The defense has carried the Steelers to a 4-2 record, tied with Baltimore atop the AFC North. To go further, Pittsburgh needs the offense to take a step forward.
