Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett showed off his clutch gene by leading the team to back-to-back game-winning drives with under a minute left in Weeks 16 and 17 last season. The Steelers run the two-minute drill often in practice, something that Pickett believes gives them the repetition necessary to succeed when the games are on the line. Talking to Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Movin’ The Chains on SiriusXM , Pickett credited Tomlin with giving them the necessary work in two-minute drills.
“Situational football in the NFL, the margin of error is so small in games. A lot of them are one-possession. So it’s going to come down to end of half, trying to steal some points and then winning the game down the stretch in the two-minute drill. So I think Coach T puts us in those situations a lot to give us a lot of reps. I think that’s why we’ve had success,” Pickett said. “It’s something that you just need repetitions and guys understand the clock management and how we like to operate in two-minute and we were successful last year. We want to continue that success.”
One thing Tomlin knows how to do is win consistently, given that he’s never had a below .500 season. As stupid as that stat given Pittsburgh’s lack of recent playoff success, he does know that stealing points when you can is key to winning games. Getting three or ideally seven points before the half is a great way to increase a team’s chances of winning.
In recent years, the Steelers have played a whole lot of close games, coming down to the final drive. More than ever, repeatedly working on two-minute drills is something that will make the Steelers a better team and a team that can win more games. Pickett showed his comfort in those situations, which are traditionally uncomfortable for young quarterbacks, late in the season last year. That’s a testament to all the work Pittsburgh has put in practice.
But some credit has to go to Pickett too. Despite getting in as much work in as the Steelers do, not a lot of quarterbacks could channel the practice experience and be as comfortable as Pickett was in game situations. He was able to stay calm, cool and collected and lead the Steelers down the field to beat the Raiders on Christmas Eve in the bitter cold and the Ravens in Baltimore a week later, two tough situations that he made look almost routine.
If Pickett can continue to be a leader and show off his clutch gene, the Steelers will be just fine with him at quarterback. If he puts it all together on top of being able to be a killer late in games, his ceiling is going to be very exciting.
