Steelers' Tomlin: Justin Fields 'Respectful of' Russell Wilson and 'Doesn't Bow Down'

As the Pittsburgh Steelers are off to a 2-0 start with Justin Fields at quarterback, head coach Mike Tomlin explained why Fields and Russell Wilson get along well behind the scenes.

During the CBS broadcast of Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos (h/t ESPN's Brooke Pryor), Tomlin noted that Fields is "respectful of" Wilson.

"He's been respectful of Russ," Tomlin said. "He doesn't bow down to Russ."

Wilson was expected to be the starter in Pittsburgh, but a calf injury has kept him out of action for the first two games of the season. He has been the team's emergency third quarterback.

Despite the injury, Wilson was voted by his teammates as one of the Steelers' four captains prior to Week 1. Pryor noted he has gone out to midfield for the pregame coin toss in each of the first two games.

Tomlin has consistently avoided talking about any potential quarterback controversy.

"That's a big if," Tomlin told reporters on Sept. 10 when asked if Wilson would start in Week 2 if he was available. "I'm not into the hypotheticals. As I mentioned, right now, he's not healthy. And so my time and attention is focusing on the readiness of Justin."

There is no indication at this point when Wilson will be ready to play. He was a limited participant in all three practices leading up to Sunday's game against the Broncos.

Fields has been far from perfect through two games, but the Steelers' success thus far would seem to make it difficult to bench him whenever Wilson is healthy.

Pittsburgh has just one offensive touchdown in its two victories. Fields has been efficient through the air with a 69.8 completion percentage, 273 yards and one touchdown. He's doing a good job of protecting the ball as a passer with no interceptions in 43 attempts.

There will likely come a point when the Steelers have to score more points to win games, but Fields' success thus far has provided some stability at a position where they had a lot of question marks coming into the season.

Whenever Wilson is healthy enough to play, there might come a point when Tomlin has to make a decision about his starter. For now, though, the Steelers are able to get by with an offense doing just enough to support a defense that has only allowed 16 points in two games.