Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin criticized quarterback Justin Fields’ role in two fumble snaps during his team’s 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans on Friday.

According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Tomlin felt that much of Fields’ success was undone by the mistakes, saying, “I thought he did some nice things. But he was obviously part of the CQ exchange and from my perspective, that’s a dual responsibility of the center and the quarterback. That undid a lot of good things in those first few drives.”

Fields, who started due to Russell Wilson’s calf injury, dropped a snap on each of his first two drives. The offense recovered the ball both times, but had to punt shortly afterward.

Aside from the fumbles, Fields completed 5 of 6 passes for 67 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and was sacked twice.

After the game, Fields showed leadership qualities by taking the blame for the substitution problems, saying:

“We shot ourselves in the foot. We messed up the snap, I think in all three phases, so we can definitely be better in that part.”

“And I think as far as pinning goes, we just have to be on the same page. I take on the responsibility of just being on the same page and knowing who’s in the middle or how I need to adjust and what I need to do.”

Center Nate Herbig, however, absolved his quarterback of any blame and said it was “100 percent” his own fault.

The 25-year-old Fields was originally the Chicago Bears’ No. 11 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but was traded by them in the offseason when they had the opportunity to be the first to draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

Pittsburgh completely revamped its quarterback staff by releasing Mitchell Trubisky, trading Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, and letting Mason Rudolph leave as a free agent while acquiring Fields and signing Wilson.

Fields has yet to prove himself as a great passer over the course of an entire NFL season, but he showed flashes of promise for the Bears in 2023, completing 61.4 percent of his passes for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while also running for 657 yards and four scores in 13 games.

Fields is expected to be the backup behind nine-time Pro Bowler, one-time Super Bowl champion and potential future Hall of Famer Wilson when the 2024 season begins, but Wilson’s absence on Friday left that door open.

Fields failed to displace Wilson as the starter, but both players should get a chance to show their skills next week against the Buffalo Bills.

Tomlin said he expects Wilson to be able to play in Pittsburgh’s next preseason game, so it will be interesting to see if the competitive spirit gets the best of him and Fields.