Steelers Should Feel Better About Kenny Pickett After Dolphins Loss
The sooner the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled the plug on the Mitch Trubisky experiment, the quicker they were going to find out whether they had their next franchise quarterback.
Kenny Pickett is a fun story. Pickett spent four years at the University of Pitt. He helped them to their first ACC Championship. Eventually, he crossed the hallway and found himself a part of the Steelers’ organization.
Trubisky, who was signed a week before Pickett fell to the Steelers, was always going to open the season as the starter unless he looked incapable of throwing a football. Including Mason Rudolph, all three quarterbacks looked really good in the preseason, albeit against a bunch of backup defenders.
Trubisky ended up being pulled at halftime of the Jets game and the rest is history. Or will it be?
Pickett sparked the Steelers in that game and then led them on a decent opening drive in the next game against the Buffao Bills. He started against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the next week and was knocked out with a concussion before being cleared to play on Sunday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins.
The offense started out slow. The Steelers found themselves in a 13-0 hole pretty quickly before Pickett led the Steelers down the field for a field goal and then tossed a touchdown to George Pickens shortly before the half and Pittsburgh found themselves down just six at half.
Their opening drive out of the half was a three-and-out and demoralized any momentum the Steelers carried.
Then the fourth quarter came.
Pickett faced a third-and-16 with just over three minutes to go in the game after a few penalties pushed them back to a long third down. He had a solid hand in getting the Steelers down the field prior to those penalties.
Knowing they needed a chunk play, Pickett tried to force a ball in there just short of the line to gain and was picked off as he telegraphed the throw to the intended receiver in Diontae Johnson.
It seemed the game was over but with a few timeouts and the two minute warning, the Steelers still had a chance. After an inexplicable incomplete pass play on third down, the Steelers were given a free timeout and got the ball back with more than two minutes left.
Again, Pickett drove the Steelers down the field and made a few very nice throws to get them there. Then, on second down, Pickett rolled out to his left. He needed just two yards for a first down. Pickett had plenty of green grass in front of him to gain the first and then step out of bounds but decided to try and force the ball into the end zone. It was picked off.
What could’ve been Pickett’s “I’m here to stay” moment turned into a fan base full of pessimism around the Steelers’ first true attempt at a Ben Roethlisberger successor.
Yet, through all of this, I sit here following the game feeling better about Pickett than I did before the game started.
Let’s start with the fact that Pickett is a rookie quarterback. Rookie quarterbacks, especially ones that aren’t gun shy, will make these kinds of mistakes as they try and make things happen. Pickett ended up tossing for 257 yards, most of which came in the fourth quarter when the Steelers needed him to move the ball.
The three interceptions are going to be a black eye on his stat line, especially not that he’s got seven on the year. But that’s the kind of thing you’re going to get from a rookie. Plus, I think we can all agree that a handful of the seven picks have been avoidable if his receivers simply caught the ball.
The rookie first-rounder continues to show poise in the pocket and the ability to stand in the face of pressure and get out of trouble when the pocket collapses. He’s got the swagger to spark the team and seems to have a solid command of the offense and its players.
And, above all, he’s a rookie quarterback learning the NFL. He’ll make those rookie mistakes.
In Philadelphia next week against the NFL’s lone undefeated team, he’ll have a chance to atone for those mistakes. No one expects them to win or even be competitive. The best thing that could come out of a loss is that Pickett doesn’t look abysmal and shows some improvement upon Sunday night.
And for those clamoring for Trubisky to come back in, what kind of purpose does that serve?
I don’t think the Steelers win even one more game because Trubisky plays and Pickett sits the bench. He went 1-3 as a starter before Pickett took over the offense. Sure, Pickett has yet to complete a game in which the Steelers won but he’s shown flashes of being an NFL quarterback.
Maybe after all of this, we find out that Pickett isn’t the answer. And that’s okay. That’s why he needs to play now and Trubisky should be on the bench serving as a capable backup incase of injury such as last week against the Buccaneers.
The quicker the Pittsburgh Steelers find out what they’ve got in Kenny Pickett, the quicker they’ll claw back to being a playoff team. Because if they decide he’s not the guy, they can make a move accordingly to eventually find that next guy.
Until then, let Pickett play and find out who he is. Growing pains are going to be prevalent when dealing with a rookie quarterback. The play-calling surely isn’t helping. Maybe even a switch at the offensive coordinator position could be in order before making a true judgement of Pickett.
But I’ll repeat so the point truly gets across - I feel better about Kenny Pickett following the Steelers’ loss than I did before it.
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