PITTSBURGH >> Justin Fields keeps avoiding mistakes.

Mike Tomlin keeps avoiding the subject.

If Tomlin’s backup quarterback keeps playing like this, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach might not be able to for much longer, not with Fields quietly building a case he should remain the starter even after Russell Wilson’s balky right calf heals.

Fields produced his most efficient performance yet in a 20-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, throwing for a touchdown and running for another as the Steelers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2020.

While Fields is quick to point out he’s hardly doing this alone — certainly not on a day Pittsburgh’s defense limited the Chargers (2-1) to 168 total yards and the offensive line manhandled Los Angeles late — he admits he’s not the same player who endured three largely uneven seasons in Chicago before the Bears traded him to Pittsburgh in March.

“I feel like I’m just very calm out there, cool, calm and collected in the field and really just that sense of peace out there on the field and not rushing things,” Fields said after completing 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards. “Internally, my brain, just staying calm in the pocket, making plays when I can and must doing my job.”

Against the Chargers, that meant guiding an offense that kept pounding away for three quarters until Los Angeles eventually wore down.

Pittsburgh’s three fourth-quarter possessions ended with a go-ahead field goal from Chris Boswell, a 55-yard strike from Fields to Calvin Austin III, and a 65-yard drive that ate away the final 4:59 and appeared to sap the will of their opponent.

“It was just clear to the offensive line that they were just done,” Steelers left tackle Dan Moore Jr. said.

Pittsburgh believes it’s just getting started as a season that began with plenty of questions — most notably at quarterback — has opened with three straight victories that have followed a familiar pattern: a tight, physical game where the Steelers made all the plays that mattered late. “I think we’re just seasoned for those moments,” Pittsburgh defensive tackle Cam Heyward said.

Maybe because they haven’t had much choice in recent years. The Steelers have been forced to rely heavily on their defense because the offense struggled to produce much of anything with any sort of regularity.