Mike Tomlin: The weather didn’t dictate how much we used Justin Fields

The Steelers have often talked about having a package of plays for quarterback Justin Fields since pulling him from the starting lineup in favor of Russell Wilson, but they never really broke them out until Thursday night.

Fields was stopped short of a first down on a fourth down run in the first quarter and then returned to the game in the fourth quarter. He had a 30-yard run that moved the Steelers into Cleveland territory and then drew a roughing the passer penalty that helped set up a touchdown. Fields saw more time after the Browns threw an interception with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t pick up a first down when he threw an incompletion to George Pickens on third down.

After the 24-19 loss was in the books, Fields said he thought he should have scored long-term but felt “stiff” after being sidelined for so long. He said the inconsistent playing time affects the rhythm, “but at the end of the day it’s what my job is” and he won’t complain about getting to play. Both Fields and head coach Mike Tomlin also said the snowy weather was not the reason the team decided to expand Fields’ role.

“No, I don’t think the weather was a factor,” Tomlin said at his press conference. “We had intentions of using him and we did. I don’t know that the weather conditions were a factor in that decision making.”

The biggest factor might have been an offense that didn’t score a touchdown between the fourth quarter in Week 10 and the fourth quarter Thursday night. Going to Wilson at that point was an admission that the Steelers need to find ways to put more points on the board and that Wilson hasn’t been doing as well as he did when he first entered the lineup . Coming up short Thursday night means Fields could become a bigger part of their attempt to solve that problem.