Miscommunication between Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields and rookie center Zach Frazier has been a season-long issue, and it cost them significantly in a potential comeback drive.
Four plays into a seven-play drive initiated at the Pittsburgh 17, Fields fumbled the center-to-quarterback exchange for a big 12-yard loss. Fields recovered at the 30-yard line only to throw two out of the final three passes incomplete for a turnover on downs.
Instances like this (in addition to high snaps) have occurred twice in the 2024 season, both on the road (preseason at Detroit Lions, Week 2 at Denver Broncos). Teams work on silent counts for away games and can be alerted in three ways: The guard tapping the center, a quarterback leg kick or a combination.
The sloppy center-to-quarterback exchange is a fundamental issue that needs to be remedied immediately before it leads to future failure. In this instance, Fields said the alert was the leg kick, and he simply wasn’t ready for the ball.
