While the Pittsburgh Steelers have certainly been catching the attention of the national media after two quality performances by the starting offense in the preseason, CBS Sports Network’s Adam Schein is no stranger to singing the Steelers’ praises.
On Monday’s edition of Time To Schein, Schein doubled down on his previous comments about QB Kenny Pickett, reinforcing his feelings about Pittsburgh’s potential to be a playoff contender with the second-year quarterback under center.
“Do not sleep on QB Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers this season,” Schein said. “I hate when people overreact to the preseason… But I think the Steelers are gonna explode on the scene. My goal, when we lock in our playoff teams, is to have the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs, and I won’t be surprised if they make a real run in the postseason.”
There’s no question that Pickett and the first-string offense have performed quite well. All three drives with the first-string offense have resulted in touchdowns. Pickett himself has thrown for two touchdowns, a 33-yard slant to WR George Pickens, and a 25-yard pass to TE Pat Freiermuth where Pickett had to throw him open away from the trailing linebacker.
Perhaps the biggest boost that Pickett and the Steelers have is the stellar defense. There are stars on the defensive line with DT Cam Heyward, at edge rusher with LBs T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, and then there’s safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on the back end. The defense has the ability to give even the best offenses in the AFC fits.
Then, it’s up to Pickett and company on the offense to take advantage and win football games. Pittsburgh ended 2022 well, winning seven of the team’s final nine games after the bye week and the last four games of the season. Unfortunately, the two losses came at the hands of division rivals in one-score games against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens.
Will the Steelers be able to flip those results in 2023? It sounds like Schein certainly thinks so. Pickett will need to continue the level of quality play he’s shown through three drives in preseason to make that happen.
