Whether it's Russell Wilson or Justin Fields under center for the Steelers against the Jets, the main goal for either will be to win the game.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin hasn't named a starter at quarterback yet for Sunday night's game, but both quarterbacks have practiced in full this week. Tomlin said earlier in the week and reiterated Wednesday that he won't officially name a starter until closer to game time.
But both quarterbacks have been preparing as if they'll be the starter.
"We're preparing to get ready to go," Wilson said Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "We're all just doing a great job. Had a great week of practice so far. We're going to have another great day (Friday)."
For his part, Fields, who has started the first six games for the Steelers (4-2) while Wilson recovered from a calf injury, is preparing the same way.
"Do the same thing I was doing, you know?" Fields said. "Just do my job, whether that's playing, helping the guys out on the sideline, telling them what I see, helping Russ out, if he's out there, so just small stuff like that."
Wilson was named the Steelers' starting quarterback coming out of training camp, but aggravated a calf injury that kept him out of practice for two weeks in early August just three days before the Steelers were set to open the season Sept. 8 at Atlanta.
In Wilson's absence, Fields has started and completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 1,106 yards with five touchdown passes and one interception. He's also rushed for five scores.
But Wilson returned to full practice last week and was active as the No. 2 quarterback in last week's 32-13 victory over the Raiders, a game in which Field completed 14 of 24 pass attempts for 145 yards while also running for 59 yards and two scores.
With Wilson participating in a second week of full practice this week, Tomlin said he would be in consideration to start against the Jets (2-4).
Fields understands that possibility.
"I don't think I've played good enough, if I'm being real with you, if I'm being real with myself," Fields said. "I think if I did play well enough, I don't think there would be any sort of (question]) of who should be playing and who should not. At the end of the day, we got a few wins. Of course, I'm glad about that, but there are areas that I can get better at, and I'm just going to continue to work on those and continue to get better."
The Steelers are 26th in the NFL in total yards, averaging 298.3 and 20th in scoring offense at 20.7 points per game. But they're also averaging just 166.8 passing yards per game, which is 28th in the NFL.
First-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said some of that might be opponent-related, admits there are things the offense could do better.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
"I think Justin has done a good job," Smith said. "By no means has anybody been perfect around here, but it's about winning. We wish we were 6-0. We're not. You are what your record says you are, so we're 4-2. I think we've made progress in certain areas some weeks. Other weeks depending on the plan or how they attacked us, there are always things we've got to fix. Constant improvement."
The Steelers could feel Wilson gives them an opportunity to improve that passing attack, though it won't be easy against the Jets, who are allowing just 148.8 yards per game through the air.
"For us, as we continue to go on through the season, we want to get better and continue to grow," said Wilson. "That's always the goal every year, is to continue to progress, to continue to get better from game in to game out. You go on from game six to game seven, seven to eight, you want to just keep rising, keep getting better. And you know, I think the best thing for us is just focusing on winning this week, nothing else down the road and just being in the moment and embracing the moment."
And that will be the goal regardless of who plays quarterback, particularly against a good New York defense.
"Their pass rush is real. The secondary is talented. The linebackers fly around," said Wilson. "They do a lot of great things, so we've got to be ready, we've got to be on our 'A-game.'"
