Justin Fields' Steelers debut marred by fumbles in preseason loss - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — For all the positives of Justin Fields' Pittsburgh Steelers debut in the team's first preseason game Friday night, two plays overshadowed the quarterback's performance.

A fumbled snap exchange on each of Fields' first two drives stymied the Steelers' first outing of the year and were just part of a sloppy 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans.

«I thought he did some nice things,» coach Mike Tomlin said. «But obviously he was a component of the C-Q exchange, and from my perspective, that's dual responsibility on the center and the quarterback. It negated a lot of good things going on in those first couple of drives.»

Fields played for three series, completing 5 of 6 attempts for 67 yards, but he was part of two fumbles and was sacked twice.

The first fumble came on the opening drive as the Steelers crossed midfield. The miscue between Fields and center Nate Herbig cost the team 4 yards on first down. The unit couldn't recover, punting the ball three plays later to end the drive.

Then, on the next drive, the first snap was another fumbled exchange. This time, the ball was recovered by fullback Jack Colletto for a 4-yard gain, but the Steelers still went three-and-out as Fields scrambled for 2 yards and then was sacked by Danielle Hunter for a loss of 8.

«We were just shooting ourselves in the foot,» Fields said. «Fumbled snap, I think all three phases, so we can definitely be better in that part.

»And I think the snapping part, we just got to be on the same page. I'll put that on me to just be on the same page and know who's in that center or know how to adjust and what I need to do."

Herbig, though, took «100%» of the blame after the game.

Once Fields went out, third-string quarterback Kyle Allen finished out the