Steelers accidentally reveal starting QB for NY Jets game in embarrassing fashion

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was hoping to enact a little gamesmanship ahead of his team's Week 7 matchup with the NY Jets on Sunday Night Football. Tomlin didn't want to reveal whether his team would start Russell Wilson or Justin Fields at quarterback this weekend.

The longtime Steelers head coach refused to tip his hand to reporters on Friday. While many assumed that Wilson would take over as the team's new starter after receiving the bulk of first-team reps in practice, Tomlin was hoping to maintain the element of surprise.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, nobody informed wide receiver George Pickens of the plan.

Pickens accidentally revealed who the Steelers' planned starter was for Sunday's game when speaking to reporters mere moments after Tomlin did his best to keep the plan a secret.

Tomlin told reporters that he wanted to keep the quarterback decision "in-house," but when Pickens was asked about Wilson, the third-year wideout revealed that he received extra reps with Wilson in practice this week because it'll be "his first start." Whoops.

NY Jets will face Russell Wilson in Week 7

The assumption all week has been that Wilson will be Pittsburgh's quarterback when they take the field on Sunday night. The future Hall of Famer is set to make his Steelers debut after being sidelined for the early portion of the season with a calf injury.

Wilson was healthy for the first time last week but served as Fields' backup. Fields has performed well in Wilson's absence, helping lead his team to a 4-2 record. While he hasn't been perfect, most assumed that the Steelers could continue to stick with the younger and more dynamic Fields.

Tomlin clearly has other plans. The Steelers' passing game has struggled at times with Fields under center, so perhaps Tomlin is hoping Wilson can provide more stability to the team's offense.

Fields does offer a more dynamic skill set at this stage of his career, however. And against a Jets defense that tends to struggle against mobile quarterbacks, the decision to bench Fields this week is curious, to say the least.

It's also possible the Steelers could use both Wilson and Fields in various packages this week. Wilson appears to be the starter, but that doesn't preclude the Steelers from getting both quarterbacks on the field at some point during the game, even if that may be a bit unorthodox.

Regardless, the suspense is over. The Jets don't have to enter Sunday's game with any assumptions about who Pittsburgh's starting quarterback will be. We now have our answer, thanks to an accidental internal leak.

More NY Jets news and analysis: