PITTSBURGH — From the moment they signed Russell Wilson in free agency, the Steelers had one plan in mind for the former nine-time Pro Bowl, Super Bowl-winning quarterback: to help them win a playoff game and become a Super Bowl contender.

It appears that plan is about to be executed.

"This is a competitive league, and we're trying to position ourselves to be that team," coach Mike Tomlin said. "And we got a player with talent who hasn't had an opportunity to play, so we're going to potentially explore those things."

Which is why, despite a 4-2 start that has the Steelers tied for the AFC North lead with the Baltimore Ravens, Tomlin is considering replacing Justin Fields as the starter in Sunday night's home game against the New York Jets.

"We're looking hard at it," Tomlin said. "It is up for consideration."

Wilson played only six series in the preseason and has not appeared in the regular season because of a calf injury that was originally injured on the first day of training camp and aggravated four days before the season opener in Atlanta.

But Tomlin said at his weekly news conference Tuesday that Wilson, 35, displayed in practice last week that he has fully recovered from the injury and has proved his ability "to move appropriately in the pocket." Tomlin cited the "totality" of Wilson's resume — he is third among active quarterbacks with 334 career touchdowns and fourth with 43,653 passing yards — as a reason to improve a pass offense that ranks 26th in the league after six games.

"I'm looking for top quality play, man, and winning, not only from them, from all of us," Tomlin said.

Tomlin did not want to characterize this week's practice as a "quarterback competition" between Wilson and Fields. And he did not commit to saying Wilson would get snaps with the first-team offense beginning Wednesday.

Instead, he merely said, "We're just going to roll the ball out, let both guys work and make decisions from there."

Fields, who won three consecutive games for the first time in his career to start the season, leads all NFL quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns and is fourth among quarterbacks with 231 rushing yards. But he also leads all players with six fumbles.

That he is second among quarterbacks in fewest interceptions (1), after throwing 30 in three seasons in Chicago, is testament to how offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has managed the fourth-year quarterback. But it is also the reason the Steelers believe their passing offense has been restricted. They don't want Fields using the middle of the field, and their play-action pass game — something the Steelers want to use with great frequency — has been mostly ineffective.

The Steelers have used play-action with Fields 32.3 percent of the time, second only to Detroit's Jared Goff (35.4) in the league. Fields is averaging 5.0 yards per attempt using play-action, according to Pro Football Reference, ranking 22nd among starting quarterbacks. He is one of only two quarterbacks who has not thrown a touchdown using play-action.

Conversely, Wilson averages 8.4 yards per attempt using play action in his career.

"Justin has been really good, and we've been really good at times, but not to be confused with great," Tomlin said. "Sometimes, it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done. Justin has been an asset to us."

Tomlin cited the 32-13 victory in Las Vegas as an example when Fields ran 11 times for 59 yards, including touchdowns of 3 and 7 yards. That helped compensate for a wayward passing performance in which he was 14-of-24 for 145 yards.

"We're appreciative of that," Tomlin said. "We're appreciative of how he's taking care of the ball. But we're just looking at all the people at our disposal the same way we do at any position."

Toward the end of his news conference, Tomlin was asked why he didn't consider switching quarterbacks last year after six games when the Steelers had a similar record but fewer points, passing yards and rushing yards.

"The people are different," Tomlin said. "It's a different journey."

In other words, they didn't have Russell Wilson. He was brought in this year to be part of a plan.

And it's time to execute that plan.

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