The Pittsburgh Steelers were nearly flawless on their opening drive against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Friday night, going down the field in 10 plays and capped the drive with a 33-yard TD strike from QB Kenny Pickett to WR George Pickens. It may have been against a less-than-full-strength Bucs defense as several starters sat out of the contest, but it was a drive that Steelers fans have been clamoring for some time, moving the ball effectively through the air with an explosive-play touchdown to cap it off.
WR Diontae Johnson had three catches on the opening drive before exiting the game, showing a strong rapport with Pickett that wasn’t there consistently through the 2022 season. Johnson mentioned after the game that all the work Pickett and the skill position players put in this offseason and in training camp came to fruition Friday night, showing chemistry between the quarterback and the receivers in the passing game.
“What we’ve been working on all training camp, we put it on display,” Johnson said on Steelers.com. “You could see the chemistry with me, Kenny, (wide receiver) Allen (Robinson II), GP. Whoever it is you see the chemistry; you can tell we’ve been working.”
RB Najee Harris said after the game that the Steelers have always believed in themselves and what they could do offensively, but the bonding during training camp and continual reps helped lead to the success they had in Tampa Bay. There’s no doubt that Pittsburgh’s heavy investment into the details and getting more reps in in training camp, during OTAs, and away from the facility helped yield the results we saw in the first preseason game. Pickett looked more comfortable in the pocket and was on the same page with his pass catchers, finding the open man and placing the ball in the right spot for his receiver to try and create after the catch.
Pittsburgh needs to carry this success from the first preseason game into the regular season, but it’s a great first step for this offense that struggled to find consistency last season. As Pickett gets more live reps with his weapons through the rest of the preseason, we should see this offense be ready to hit the ground running come Week One.
