Poor Steelers fans used to Kenny Pickett don’t know how to feel about Justin Fields

The Pittsburgh Steelers fandom is understandably conflicted after an 18-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. On the surface, it's great to start the season with a win. Pittsburgh's defense stuck a fork in the Falcons' supposedly-revamped offense and the Steelers, while not prolific, did mount six scoring drives. There was enough there to establish a baseline optimism for the rest of this season.

Mike Tomlin has gradually faded Russell Wilson from the Steelers' game plan. Justin Fields is expected to start at quarterback again in Week 2, so it will be revenge by proxy for Russ, whose former team, the Denver Broncos, will play host.

There's still time for Russ to get healthy and make his bid for the starting job, but Tomlin and the Steelers' brass have praised Fields at every turn. Pittsburgh is presumably searching for a long-term solution at QB and Fields, among other merits, is a decade younger than Russ. There is at least a faint whiff of upside there.

That said, his performance on Sunday afternoon was not some masterclass. Fields completed 17-of-23 passes for 156 yards and zero touchdowns. He also added 57 yards on 14 scrambles. The 25-year-old was efficient, but not explosive, and he generally avoided potential mistakes in favor of simple, risk-averse passes.

Sound familiar?

There was a lot about Fields' performance on Sunday that lines up with your standard, run of the mill Kenny Pickett start. And yet, the Steelers won the ballgame, and Fields did damage with his legs — an element Pickett never supplied to the offense. So... how should fans feel about it all?

Steelers fans are understandably confused after moderately successful Justin Fields debut

This is where honesty is essential. It's easy to get carried away with emotion after the first week of football, especially when your team wins, but the Steelers can't let success blind them. It was a single, very flawed performance, and the Falcons weren't exactly operating in tip-top condition. Kirk Cousins was a stick in the mud, perhaps the easiest QB the Steelers will defend all season. That means, at some point, the offense will need to carry its weight too.

Fields is better than Kenny Pickett. I am fairly confident in that assessment, especially from the Steelers' perspective. For all his many flaws, Fields' ability to run the football puts a ton of stress on a defense. It's still a unique skill at his position and it creates situations that opposing teams can struggle to game plan for. Arthur Smith loves to run the football and promote a balanced offense, so it's the perfect schematic fit for Fields.

That said, as FanSided's Mark Powell elucidated during Monday's fallout, the similarities to last season's offensive issues — the lack of throws over the middle, the meager yards per attempt, the zero touchdowns — demand attention. Pittsburgh fans can't ignore it, nor can the front office or coaching staff. A lot of it can be blamed on system.

"Fields and Pickett are not on the same level," Powell writes, "but the flaws within the Steelers system remain the same, and in some cases have heightened, like at WR2 across from George Pickens. It's a 17-game season, and Pittsburgh fans should enjoy the ride rather than jumping to the end. There are bound to be some bumps and bruises behind center."

That is the perfect outlook for Steelers fans: "Enjoy the ride." Because, after all, there are positive takeaways from Sunday as well.

Pittsburgh won the game and successfully moved the chains. Red zone execution should be an area of emphasis moving forward, but the Steelers converted 8-of-17 third downs and were frequent residents of field goal range. Fields' legs were a constant nuisance for a good Falcons defense, and most importantly, it's only game one. Fields is learning a new system and picking up with new teammates.

It's easy to jump to negative conclusions after Fields' complicated tenure in Chicago, but patience would be wise in this scenario.

For what it's worth, Fields is not Kenny Pickett. That is a bad taste the Pittsburgh faithful can wash from their mouths. He may struggle under the constraints of a mediocre offense and, yeah, there's a good chance he is not the long-term answer the franchise seeks at quarterback. But, at the same time, he's a wholly different type of quarterback, and the Steelers' offense should look more and more different as the season progresses, especially if they can avoid the temptation to shoehorn Russ into the lineup for a couple weeks.