Just as the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a rough patch over the last four games, QB Russell Wilson has also had a rough patch. He’s not solely responsible for the losing streak, but he certainly wasn’t part of the solution. Many wondered if Justin Fields would see some snaps to provide some variety Saturday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, but he once again didn’t get a game.

Mike Tomlin told the media after the Steelers’ 19-17 loss that Fields was available after missing the last two games with an abdominal injury. He was then asked if they had ever considered using Justin Fields as the offense was having trouble putting drives together.

“Not really, no,” Tomlin said via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “Because our failure was collective in nature, and I think the wisest thing for us at this point was to stick with those who were on the field and work through it.”

Fields was unavailable for the last two games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens after suffering an injury in his only snap against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Other than that, he only played in three straight games on offense from Weeks 11-13, totaling 12 snaps. His use on offense led to mixed results on the bench. In 13 games supporting Russell Wilson, he had seven rushing attempts for 58 yards and no completions on an attempt. He gained most of his rushing yards on just a few of these attempts. Still, he seems like the better option in short-yardage situations when the offense is clearly struggling.

At the end of the first half, Pat Freiermuth picked up nine yards before going out of bounds on second down. The Steelers then ran two plays where they failed to convert. The Bengals got the ball back and scored one last field goal before halftime. The Steelers lost by two points, so a failure from close range is in danger. The third-down play was a QB sneak with Wilson that ultimately failed after the replay assist was involved. This probably would have been a prime opportunity to bring Fields into the game. Good luck stopping Fields twice in a row with less than a meter to go.

There are a few things to consider, however, and Tomlin addressed one of them. The failures weren’t just Wilson’s fault. He was sacked four times and the offensive line didn’t hold up particularly well. There were drops from Calvin Austin III, Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens. Wilson didn’t play particularly well, but he wasn’t the only reason for the problems.

With the playoffs starting next week, this should be the game for the Steelers to get back on track. It didn’t work out that way, but Tomlin had to give them a chance to work out their problems in hopes of getting into the playoffs in a better place.

The other point to consider was the weather. The transmission showed that it felt like 10 degrees with wind chill. The fact that Fields wasn’t there the whole game and then came on at critical moments was perhaps asking too much. The Steelers needed to bring him in early, or perhaps right after halftime when he was warm from the locker room, if they wanted to bring him in at all. With this wind you can only stay so warm on the sidelines.

Will Fields factor in her offense during the playoffs? The recent trend suggests that this is not the case, but recent results suggest that it should be. Fields would reportedly like to re-sign with the Steelers today.