BALTIMORE – It didn’t take long for Justin Fields to make his NFL playoff debut.

Fields, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ change-of-pace quarterback, checked in for the third snap from scrimmage of Saturday night’s wild-card round game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Fields, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith spent the week being cautious about whether Fields would play a significant role on offense. Fields, who started the Steelers’ first six games this season, has since appeared in 13 snaps in the five games he appeared in.

But Fields did not play in any of the final three games of the regular season after suffering an abdominal injury in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 15. Fields returned to the No. 2 QB role in last week’s regular-season finale but did not play.

Fields served as a decoy in his first action Saturday in Baltimore, handing off to Jaylen Warren on a third-and-1 from the Steelers 29 less than two minutes into the game. Warren grabbed the first down.

It was just the sixth play of 14 that Fields played while coming off the bench for the Steelers in which he didn’t have a carry (seven for 50 yards) or a pass attempt.

Despite playing sparingly after Week 6, Fields’ five rushing touchdowns ranked a close second on the Steelers behind Najee Harris’s six.

Fields entered the game on a first-down snap on the Steelers’ final drive of the first half. Under pressure and desperate, Fields threw the ball away.

(Bad) quarter

When the first quarter ended Saturday, the Steelers trailed 7-0, outgained 128-27 and had just one first down compared to the Ravens’ seven.

Believe it or not, this was actually one of the best first postseason quarters the Steelers have played in recent years.

Including Saturday, the Steelers have been outscored by a combined 73-0 in the first quarters of their last six playoff games. And since the last four games of the regular season, the Steelers have been outscored 47-3 overall in their last five games.

Strangely, no George

After a game in which he had 0 net receiving yards, George Pickens, the Steelers’ No. 1 wide receiver, wasn’t targeted for a pass until about 6 minutes had elapsed Saturday.

Pickens caught an 8-yard pass on a first down with 4 minutes, 2 seconds left in the second quarter.

Four snaps later, Pickens caught what appeared to be a long pass, but he was called for offensive pass interference.

Only 12 NFL wide receivers had penalties assessed to them during the regular season than Pickens. But Pickens had not been reported for OPI since Week 1.