PITTSBURGH — In the lead-up to Sunday, Mike Tomlin often referred to one of his favorite sayings: Styles make fights.

The Steelers were assured of a victory against the run-and-defense-oriented Los Angeles Chargers at Acrisure Stadium, holding on to a three-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining.

With the Chargers’ top-ranked defense and the Steelers’ second-ranked unit in the same game, a defensive struggle might have been inevitable. But with the outcome in the balance, Steelers quarterback Justin Fields sensed that receiver Calvin Austin III was in a soft spot in the Chargers’ quarter coverage and let it go.

Austin grabbed the ball and took off, using his 14-foot-10 speed to outpace defenders and score a 55-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a 3-0 start.

.@justnfields ➡️ @CalvinAustinIII for the 55-yard TD 🙌

📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc photo.twitter.com/2dF7ZEPifv

—Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 22, 2024

“Boy, I was tired. I’m not going to lie. I felt it,” Austin said with a smile after the game. “I saw the end zone. I knew I was going to get there.”

Fields’ perfect shot was the exclamation point on his most productive passing performance as a Steeler. He continues to play within the confines of the offense and does enough to keep racking up the wins.

In the first two games, the Steelers were careful not to let Fields do too much. Under first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, they relied primarily on a run-heavy attack, lots of low-risk, outside-the-numbers passes and a few well-timed deep shots. That formula, combined with Pittsburgh’s stifling defense, carried them past the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos.

“He does a great job of doing what we ask of him,” Tomlin said after the game.

GALLING DEEPER

NFL Week 3 takeaways: Are the Cowboys fundamentally flawed? Are the Vikings a Super Bowl contender?

What the Steelers asked of Fields changed on Sunday. He went from a QB tasked simply with not losing games with a conservative game plan to someone who had to be a driving force in winning. Not only did the Chargers have the metrics on defense (limiting opponents to a league-best 6.5 points per game through two weeks), they also had a scheme that relied heavily on a two-deep shell that severely limited deep-ball opportunities.

One way to get the Chargers out of that two-deep look would have been to drive the ball up the ground and force LA to bring another defender into the box. However, with tackle Troy Fautanu on IR and Isaac Seumalo still recovering from a pectoral injury, the Steelers were missing two of their best run blockers. That’s one reason the Steelers largely spun their wheels early in the game, going three-and-out on three of their first four drives. By halftime, Pittsburgh had run the ball nine times for just 14 yards, an average of 1.6 yards per carry.

“Coach T challenged us at halftime to play better and be better,” Fields said. “We came out in the second half and did just that.”

The Steelers trailed 10-7 at halftime and relied on Fields more than ever this season to lead the comeback.

Through the first two games, Fields completed a total of 30 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. On Sunday, the combination of the Steelers’ lack of success on the ground and the Chargers’ two-deep shell forced Fields to beat one of the NFL’s best defenses through the air. He completed 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Fields also rushed the ball six times for six yards and a touchdown.

“We knew they were going to give us completions on first and second down, to keep the shell over the top,” Fields said. “They don’t really want to make big plays. So they play a little bit off and soft, so we knew completions were going to be there on first and second down.”

The Chargers’ two-deep shell forced Justin Fields to be efficient on passes down low and accurate over the middle when trying to attack between the two safeties. He performed well in both. photo.twitter.com/cqy9PSQYTa

— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) September 22, 2024

Fields was accurate on early downs, picking up the yardage needed to set up manageable third downs. When the Steelers opted to target the middle of the field, Fields was usually on time and on target to pass the ball between the two safeties.

“(We) opened up the passing game a little bit more,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “They invested in their edges (Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa). So we tried to attack the middle of their interior defense.”

The only blemish on Fields’ record was an interception, when he tried to pass the ball to Cordarrelle Patterson in a tight space, but the ball was tipped in mid-air and intercepted. Fields admitted after the game that he shouldn’t have tried to force the ball into such a tight space.

Despite the miss, timely completions gave the running game time to get going. Meanwhile, the defense took over. The Steelers limited the Chargers to negative-five yards in the second half, forced starting quarterback Justin Herbert out of the game and continually harassed backup Taylor Heinicke. Pittsburgh’s defense has now limited opponents to a league-low 8.7 points per game.

“The whole conversation this week has been who’s got the better defense? Who’s going to stop the run?” Joey Porter Jr. said. “I feel like we did both today.”

While the dominant defensive performance proves that the Steelers don’t need dominance on offense, and the subpar rushing numbers through the first three quarters show that Pittsburgh still has work to do if it wants to continue playing its preferred style, the game also showed that Fields continues to advocate for more trust from the coaching staff.

Of the three games Fields has played, this was his strongest statement to retain the starting job — based on the quality of the opponent and his steadfastness in the face of adversity early in the game. Russell Wilson’s calf injury, while disappointing for him, was perhaps a bright spot for the Steelers, giving them a chance to see if they could be the team that could get the most out of Fields. After the game, Fields said he’s “grown a lot” over the past year and feels like he’s becoming more confident and comfortable in the Steelers’ scheme.

Scoop City Newsletter

Free daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Free daily NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox.

To register

“I just feel really calm out there,” Fields said. “Cool, calm and collected on the field. Really, just that sense of peace out there on the field. I don’t really rush in my head. I just stay calm in the pocket and just make plays when I can.”

It remains to be seen whether Wilson’s lingering calf injury will make him part of the conversation this week. But based on Fields’ performance on Sunday and his 3-0 record, it would be difficult to make a switch at this point.

Let’s see if he can keep it that way.

“At the end of the day, it’s not just me winning games, it’s the whole team,” Fields said. “I’m just happy to be a part of this team, happy to be a part of this organization. We’re definitely looking forward to continuing it next week.”

(Top photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)