When the Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2024 offseason, many changes were made to the quarterback room. Former Steelers quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph all went to different teams. It was a much needed reset for the organization as the quarterback situation wasn’t working out after future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 campaign. The team brought in veteran Russell Wilson and former first-round pick Justin Fields during the 2024 offseason.

Although Fields started the season with a 4-2 record, Wilson took over the starting job in Week 7. Both the Steelers’ franchise and quarterbacks will have a decision to make during the offseason about their potential futures in Pittsburgh.

Wilson has mainly been linked to reports saying he was looking for a deal to stay in Pittsburgh. Although he’s had his good moments, Wilson has also made costly mistakes in-game that have hurt the team. His age is also a concern for the Steelers, as he’s a quarterback who doesn’t have many years left in him, and it’s quite clear he can’t run like he used to.

Fields’ future in Pittsburgh is more up in the air. There haven’t been as many reports on if he is looking for a new deal or not. Roethlisberger expressed on the “Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger” podcast that he’d like to see Fields stay in Pittsburgh for another year. Kevin Gorman of TribLive spoke with Fields directly about his future in Pittsburgh, and he revealed his thoughts moving forward in a Saturday morning article.

“I want to be here,” Fields told Gorman. “I’m kind of tired of learning a new offense every year. This will be my third in four years. Of course I’d love to be back, but that’s all up to God at the end of the day. I’ll be where God wants me to be.”

Fields didn’t have the best experience with the Chicago Bears. He was quickly moved into a starting quarterback role for a fan base that was hungry to win. The team didn’t have the right weapons for him and coaches didn’t help Fields out. It was a lot of pressure for Fields trying to be the new franchise quarterback in Chicago when fans didn’t fully support him, either. Fields needed a fresh start, and Pittsburgh gave that to him.

During his six-game stretch, Fields threw for 1,106 yards, and throughout the season, even after getting moved to back up Wilson, he has still used his legs and rushed for 289 yards. His legs are a weapon, and Fields could easily get out of the pocket to either make a throw or run it himself. Fans were concerned about his throwing ability, but Fields has had a true opportunity to finally learn under a veteran quarterback for most of the season.

Fields and Wilson have been seen talking and smiling on the sideline together, showing they have a good relationship. It’s never easy to start a season well and then be replaced as the starting quarterback, but Fields said that he has taken this time to learn and grow as a quarterback.

“Russ has been great,” Fields said. “Of course, his job is not to mentor me. But anytime I have a question for him, anytime I ask a question he gives me his thoughts on that. I’m always picking his brain on different things.”

Wilson has also spoken highly of Fields throughout the season. He’s known to be a supportive and positive teammate, which will help any player. It’s a great situation to have when a team has two capable, starting quarterbacks who want to be in Pittsburgh. 

It’d be ideal if the Steelers chose to keep both players and see what happens next season, but head coach Mike Tomlin came into this season wanting Wilson as the starter, so he may be swayed to keep Wilson over Fields if it came to that.

Fields would be the ideal quarterback moving forward

Wilson has been great for the Steelers and has shown major improvement for an offense that has been stale the past few seasons, but in terms of the future, the Steelers need to really consider going with Fields. Once Roethlisberger retired, a whole new era began in Pittsburgh. It’s always rough for an organization to lose its franchise quarterback and start over, but it needs to be figured out early on so the team isn’t set back for seasons to come.

Fields is still 25-years-old and has a lot to prove in this league. His running is his strongest ability, but he said in the article that he knows his arm strength is just as important. The Steelers started 4-2 with Fields, so who knows what would’ve happened if he started the rest of the season? It’s a big decision for the Steelers’ organization, but knowing Fields wants to be back in Pittsburgh, even after watching from the sidelines for most of the season, is a great sign.

We’re feeling the coldest air of the season so far with wind chills close to zero across much of the area. The wind will back off later, with a few peeks of sun possible, so it won’t feel as bad this afternoon.

Steady snow pushes into the area tonight and may arrive as soon as 10 or 11 p.m. for areas close to the Mason-Dixon line. For most, snow starts falling overnight in waves through Monday morning. Another round of steady snow is expected to develop Monday afternoon, mainly from Pittsburgh points south.

A Winter Storm Warning goes into effect for Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland Counties at 7 p.m. and remains active until Monday at 7 p.m. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the same period for Allegheny and Indiana counties.

Allegheny County still looks to be very close to the cutoff for higher snow totals, with amounts close to 6″ near I-70 and generally an inch or two expected north. Snow should be nearly done by Monday evening, with only flurries possible into Tuesday morning.

Mid-week looks quiet but cold with highs still in the 20s. More snow showers will develop late Wednesday night with an Arctic front as wind chills drop below zero again for the end of the week.

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The Bengals did what they had to do to give themselves a chance at making the playoffs.

Trey Hendrickson had 3.5 sacks of Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, including one in the final minute that led to the Steelers turning the ball over on downs with 11 seconds left to play. That secured a 19-17 win for the Bengals and they will now shift to observer mode on Sunday. Losses by the Broncos and Dolphins will give the Bengals a playoff spot.

It’s a scenario that seemed far-fetched when the Bengals were 4-8, but five straight wins to close out the regular season leaves them alive heading into the final day of the season. Hendrickson, who is likely to be the league’s sack leader with 17.5 on the season, was one of the three usual suspects to play a big role in the latest win.

Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase hooked up for their 17th touchdown of the season to open the game and Chase ended the night with 10 catches for 96 yards. He is the first player in league history with 1,700 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in the same season and he won the receiving triple crown by leading the league in catches as well.

Burrow was checked for a concussion at one point, but didn’t miss a snap and went 37-of-46 for 277 yards to drive an offense that was missing running back Chase Brown and saw wide receiver Tee Higgins leave with an ankle injury. It wrapped up a stellar season for Burrow, but Sunday’s results will show whether it is enough for them to have a shot at getting back to the Super Bowl.

The Steelers know that they’ll have that chance, but will have to wait for the Chargers’ result to find out their seed. If the Chargers beat the Raiders, the Steelers will head to Baltimore as the No. 6 seed. If the Chargers lose, they’ll go to Houston as the No. 5 seed.

Playing the Texans seems like a better bet to advance, but the Steelers offense doesn’t feel like a safe bet under any circumstances. They had a pair of touchdown drives that accounted for 12 of their 16 first downs and they couldn’t take advantage of a golden opportunity to take the lead in the fourth quarter. A Corliss Waitman punt bounced into Bengals defensive back D.J. Ivey’s foot and the Steelers recovered on the Bengals’ 38-yard-line.

One of Hendrickson’s sacks helped force a Chris Boswell field goal that cut Cincinnati’s lead to two, however, and the Steelers would never get the touchdown they needed. They only managed 193 yards for the game and they will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak when they take the field next weekend. It will help if wide receiver George Pickens can hold onto the ball after dropping three passes on Saturday, but there were enough other issues to make it feel like the long wait for the Steelers offense to catch fire feels like it may not end before the 2025 season.