Justin Fields has been around football long enough to understand how this works, especially when you’re a quarterback.

The player at the top of the depth chart gets hurt. The backup comes in and plays well. Controversy ensues. Noise builds. Sides are chosen.

Forgive Fields if he wants no part of it. The last thing he wants all of one game into his Pittsburgh Steelers career — a mistake-free performance while filling in for an injured Russell Wilsonlast week in Atlanta — is to get caught up in something that is entirely out of his control.

“We can have this debate on who’s the starter, who’s not the starter,” Fields said Thursday. “My job is to go out there and help the team win the game. So as long as I do that, then I feel good.”

There was plenty to feel good about against the Falcons. He’s hoping to keep the positive vibes going on Sunday when the Steelers (1-0) travel to Denver (0-1).

Pittsburgh’s trip west was poised to pit Wilson against his former team. The Broncos dumped the nine-time Pro Bowler in March, willingly eating tens of millions of dollars to do it.

Yet rather than have Wilson — who clashed with Denver coach Sean Payton — run out onto the field with the starters, it will be Fields who gets the nod while Wilson continues to rehab a calf injury he aggravated last week.

While one compelling narrative died, another could be rising in its place. Fields did all the things Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith love against the Falcons.

He avoided turnovers, found wide receiver George Pickens downfield a handful of times and wisely used his legs to turn third downs into first downs on a handful of occasions, none bigger than late in the fourth quarter when he worked his way for 7 yards on third-and-5, forcing Atlanta to burn all three of its timeouts while setting up the last of Chris Boswell’s six field goals.

“As a still young quarterback in this league, new environment, Week 1, sudden change late, I thought he handled that really well,” Smith said.

Neither Fields, Smith nor Tomlin are in a hurry to look too far down the road. Tomlin shot down a question this week about whether Wilson will be the starter over Fields whenever the 35-year-old Super Bowl winner is ready to play.

“I’m not going to soothe you with hypothetical scenarios,” Tomlin said.