Steelers Need to End The Mitch Trubisky Experiment Now
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The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 1-2 in Week 3 after a painful loss to the Cleveland Browns, already putting them in a 1.5-game hole in the division standings.
Neither the offense nor defense played well, but it's becoming very clear that the Steelers' offense is the weak link between the two.
After a solid start in the first half, Mitch Trubisky once again had the Steelers threatening in opposing territory but airmailed a wide-open throw to Diontae Johnson that would have allowed them to attempt a very attainable field goal. That's back-to-back weeks where he's fallen apart late in the first half.
The offensive unit led by Trubisky sputtered and appeared lifeless after the halftime break, as their only three points in the half came with under two minutes left as the game was essentially over barring a miraculous onside kick recovery. A theme that has become all too familiar, the Steelers just simply didn't possess the football long enough to give their defense a breather on the sidelines.
Here were their second-half possessions leading up to that late field goal, detailed by plays, yards, and time of possession:
10 plays, 38 yards, 5:27, (Punt)
3 plays, 7 yards, 1:27 (Punt)
3 plays, -5 yards, :57 (Punt)
3 plays, 4 yards, 1:11 (Punt)
That's simply not good enough. While he didn't shy away from acknowledging it, Trubisky wasn't good enough for the third week in a row.
Sure, he's not committing the back-breaking turnovers that doomed his tenure in Chicago but he's not making enough winning plays either to come away victorious barring a heroic defensive effort to bail him out. Whenever you go 1-9 for on third downs, you're going to have a problem scoring points, especially when you can't move the ball via explosive plays either.
So far this season, Trubisky is 5-19 on throws that travel further than 20 yards past the line of scrimmage.
In the preseason, the offensive line was set to be the scapegoat for why Trubisky couldn't revive his career in Pittsburgh. But as the weeks go on, they continue to gel as a unit and seem to be progressing quite well under new offensive line coach Pat Meyer.
The Browns were only able to register two hits on Trubisky the entire game, with the lone sack coming as a result of a poor blitz pickup from Najee Harris in the A gap. Dan Moore Jr. had plenty of help and as a result, they were able to neutralize Myles Garrett, one of the best pass rushers in the league. Through three weeks, the blame can't be placed in the trenches as this is an offensive line that has exceeded expectations.
As of right now, the Steelers offense ranks dead last in yards per drive and has only scored a grand total of four touchdowns in three contests. This is a lifeless group and a portion of that blame deserves to fall on the quarterback's shoulders.
Trubisky's numbers through three weeks are horrendous despite solid protection and a capable group of playmakers.
Here's where he ranks among quarterbacks so far:
Yards per attempt: 5.5 (32nd)
Yards per game: 189.7 (28th)
TD %: 1.9 (29th)
QB rating: 77.7 (28th)
Those numbers aren't what Mike Tomlin envisioned when naming him the starting quarterback prior to the season opener. They certainly aren't good enough to warrant keeping your first-round pick, a 24-year-old quarterback, on the bench for any longer. It's unacceptable. Especially from a team that came out and made every attempt to convince the world that they weren't willing to go through a season-long rebuild but instead were doing everything they could to compete this year- right now.
Trubisky's play isn't the only issue with the offense. They're still woefully inefficient running the ball and the offensive coordinator looks completely inept for long stretches of the time. However, the biggest issue so far through three weeks has been the signal caller. Again, he's not the sole problem but it's painfully obvious that he's not talented enough to be a part of the solution either.
Inserting Kenny Pickett into the lineup isn't the death sentence that detractors are making it out to be either. This isn't some horrific situation to walk into as a rookie. The Steelers offense features a talented group of weapons that he can begin to develop some cohesion with while the young offensive line is playing noticeably better than they did all last season. Most first-round quarterbacks have it much worse.
Pickett played very well in the preseason and flashed high-level anticipation and impressive accuracy throughout all of his showings. He got better and better as the summer went on which is exactly the type of trajectory you want to see in a rookie.
The offense simply looked different when he was at the helm. There will be peaks and valleys with any rookie but right now, there is nothing but valleys for the offense, one that offers no confidence whatsoever.
Pickett's already 24 years old, having spent a ton of time in college, and wasn't viewed as a prospect that needed a ton of seasoning as he comes equipped with tons of playing experience. He could even provide a much-needed spark and hopefully inject some life into a team that looked lifeless at times against an AFC North rival. Even if the Steelers' record doesn't drastically improve with a tough part of their schedule coming up, you can begin the evaluation process of the next face of your franchise.
Find out what he does well and how to gameplan around his strengths. Find out his weaknesses and how you can minimize those as an offense. Improved quarterback play will also make the evaluation process of those around him much easier as the offense will be more in sync and on the field for more opportunities.
The Steelers offense is already near rock bottom, things can't get significantly worse so what do they really have to lose making the switch? The only answers that I've heard to this question sound a lot like someone "living in your fears" which is something Tomlin claims that he hates.
With a quasi-bye week coming up, Pittsburgh can use this ten-day period to get Pickett acclimated to the lineup with plenty of time to devise a gameplan capable of ensuring that he's successful. It helps that the game will be played at home in a stadium that he's obviously very comfortable playing in, having played there for years while at the University of Pittsburgh.
The Jets are certainly not to be taken lightly but on paper, they're the least talented team that the Steelers will face before the bye week.
Waiting any longer feels as if this is an organization living in their fears and effectively punting on their potential playoff hopes. Wasting away a year of T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick's prime just to stick with a bridge quarterback who's performing well below the baseline quarterback standard seems foolish.
This experiment has run its course and there's nothing wrong with admitting that now instead of dragging out the inevitable. It's Kenny Pickett's time.
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