Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has not yet named his team's Week 1 starting quarterback.
In Justin Fields' mind, he's shown the Steelers he's capable of handling the job.
"I think I've shown what I can do," Fields said on Thursday, . "I think the time that I did have with the (first-team offense) practicing in training camp, I think that went well. I think we grew a lot each and every day, but at the end of the day, it's not up to me."
The decision is Tomlin's, and at least entering training camp, Russell Wilson was the clubhouse leader for the job. Wilson missing two weeks of camp with a calf injury opened the door for Fields to get his shot.
Since then, Wilson and Fields have split first-team reps in practice. Wilson started the second preseason game against the Bills and is set to start against the Lions this Saturday. Fields also is expected to play, but Fields wouldn't handicap the QB battle or clarify how he'll try to win the job.
"I try to not think about stuff that I can't control," Fields said of competing with Wilson. "I try to just think about the stuff that I can control, so I can't control whether or not I'm going to be named the starter. I can control how I come in every day, how I work every day and how I treat my teammates and every day."
Through two preseason games, the Steelers' offense has not scored a touchdown with starters on the field. Wilson has led five of those drives, with Fields taking the other three. Neither QB has turned the ball over; each has taken three sacks. In 20 preseason snaps, Wilson has completed 8 of 10 passes for 47 yards, with no rushing attempts. Fields has completed 16 of 23 passes for 159 yards, leading the Steelers in rushing yards (44) on 11 carries.
Tomlin said he wants to see more of Fields' practice field execution making its way into the Steelers' games.
"I want to see (Fields) show some of the things that we've seen out here in the practice setting," Tomlin said. "Much like I've talked about the offensive unit, we've had some really good days (in practice) and shown a really high floor with the potential for splash plays, and so I want to see it in the stadium."
Fields isn't planning to change his approach for this final preseason game, he said.
"I mean, I'm just going to come in here every day, each and every day, the same person, being a leader for this team and work my butt off, and everything else will be handled," Fields said.
