Be it end of half or end of game, Mitch Trubisky has been watching all the action from the sidelines. Through two-games, Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph have run the two-minute show, finishing halves and games with exclamation points. Speaking with reporters after the game, Trubisky admitted he’s anxious for his chance to be in that situation.
“I’ve gotten those in practice and I love two-minute,” he said in a presser carried by the team. “It’s something I feel like that is a good part of my game. I like no-huddle. I like going fast and staying on the ball. So I think we’ve seen that in practice. Just haven’t got that situation in the game, but when it comes you just gotta be ready. Maybe next week, maybe Week One, you never know. So you just gotta stay ready for that and continue to watch film and, and be ready.”
Pickett closed out the first half of Saturday’s win over Jacksonville by putting Pittsburgh’s first points on the board. He ran the session perfectly, going 4/5 for 63 yards and a touchdown, hitting RB Benny Snell in the left flat for an eleven-yard score, one play after a touchdown to Diontae Johnson was wiped out by penalty. Mason Rudolph rallied the offense for a game-winning drive on a six-play, 52-yard march down the field ending in a one-yard touchdown pass to WR Tyler Snead.
Trubisky played the first three series, under siege the whole time, before giving way to Pickett. The only two-minute drills he’s received so far have come during training camp. Trubisky was part of the team’s two-minute session on Day 13 of camp, going just 4/10 for 39 yards and a 14-yard rush before the offense’s drive stalled short of the goal line. The last touchdown drive he led in two-minute came more than two weeks ago on August 3rd, connecting with WR George Pickens in the back of the end zone.
Of course, Trubisky wasn’t going to have any chance to run two-minute in end-of-game scenarios. His best chances would’ve come in the first half but two games in and he’s been pulled before that time in the game. It’s doubtful he’ll play in Sunday’s finale and if he does, it’ll only be for 1-2 drives. His first two-minute work won’t come until the regular season where he’ll try to be as effective as Pickett and Rudolph. And, of course, as good as Ben Roethlisberger, who ran the show better than nearly any other quarterback in the clutch.
