Steelers coach Mike Tomlin playing it close to vest again with his quarterback situation

Just like he wouldn’t publicly announce Russell Wilson as his starting quarterback last week, coach Mike Tomlin isn’t ready to label Justin Fields as the backup when the Pittsburgh Steelers face the NFC team from New York on Monday Night Football.

Playing coy with the media Tuesday at his weekly press conference, Tomlin smiled when he was asked whether Wilson will make his second consecutive start when the Steelers face the New York Giants at Acrisure Stadium.

“He’s scheduled to take first-team reps when we begin (practice) tomorrow,” Tomlin said. “We’ll see where the week leads us.”

A week earlier, Tomlin wouldn’t commit to Wilson replacing Fields at quarterback, even after the 13-year veteran took the first-team snaps in practice the entire week. Tomlin maintained that stance all the way until the Steelers took the field for their 37-15 victory.

Similarly, Tomlin isn’t ready to put the backup label on Fields, who guided the Steelers to a 4-2 record before sitting behind Wilson against the Jets.

“I want Justin to be prepared to get ready to play — like he’s done,” Tomlin said. “I’m refusing to acknowledge whatever changes (in quarterback order). We’re building a plan to beat the New York football Giants this week. We have two capable guys. We’re going to ready them. They both need to be ready to work.”

Wilson overcame a slow start that included three consecutive three-and-outs in the first and second quarters. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed for another touchdown on a 1-yard sneak as the Steelers reached a season high in points and yards.

Fields, meantime, remained on the bench even in red-zone packages that could have taken advantage of his speed and elusiveness at quarterback. Fields leads the Steelers with five rushing touchdowns and is second on the team with 231 yards on the ground.

Tomlin said it wasn’t difficult telling Fields that, despite playing some of the best football of his four-year career, he would be taking a back seat to Wilson.

“I don’t worry about the difficulty of conversations,” he said. “It’s about whether or not they are necessary. We’re pursuing big business here. Comfort is not a component of what we are chasing.”

Tomlin called Wilson’s poise an intangible factor in the 35-year-old quarterback not being shaken by the way the game unfolded in the first half. The Steelers got points on six of their final seven possessions and scored 31 unanswered against the Jets.

“I thought his experience was really evident,” he said. “He was unmoved and unshaken by the lack of fluidity with the start. That’s reflective of a guy who has done it at a high level for over a decade, a guy who is a world champion, a guy who is a nine-time Pro Bowler.

“He has seen a lot in this game. That’s in his back pocket just like his throwing ability. It gets you in and out of circumstances.”

Wilson and the Steelers will try to win their third game in a row when they face the Giants, who have lost two in a row and three of four. It is the final game before the Steelers head into their bye week.

Tomlin is counting on the Steelers getting off to a quicker start in Wilson’s second game at the helm.

“Play winning football and to engineer and construct victory more fluidly,” he said when asked what he would like to see from Wilson. “I think that is our goal as a collective of subsections of that collective every week. How can we engineer victory more consistently and more fluidly?”