One is an event. Two is a coincidence. Three is a pattern. For QB Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers, they want to go three-for-three this preseason and finish the summer out strong. Speaking to reporters following Wednesday’s practice, Pickett said he’s excited to get back inside a stadium when the Steelers take on the Atlanta Falcons Thursday.
“You only get better if you keep playing,” he said via a transcript provided by the team.
Pickett and the Steelers have looked far better this year compared to a year ago. They’ve found the end zone on all three of their offensive possessions, doing so with quick-hitting big plays instead of long and sometimes painful drives. Pickett hit WR George Pickens for a 33-yard gain in the opener versus Tampa Bay, RB Jaylen Warren bolted for a 62-yard touchdown Saturday against the Buffalo Bills, and Pickett connected with TE Pat Freiermuth for a 25-yard score later in the Bills’ game.
But this offense is still young and as our Jonathan Heitritter cautioned earlier today, it’s still the preseason. If the team lays an egg against a tough San Francisco 49ers’ defense in Week One, all the good feelings right now will have gone away. Pittsburgh has much to prove with poor offensive showings each of the last two years. Good offenses can explode every now and then. Great ones can sustain.
“Consistency,” Pickett said when asked what he’s looking to prove Thursday. “It’s just playing, you got to keep doing it.”
Mike Tomlin confirmed the Steelers’ starters will play in the finale, though how much work they get remains to be seen. It doesn’t seem like Tomlin has a specific number in mind and will pull the starters once they’ve proved what they set out to prove. It may not be a touchdown drive, eventually the starters will have to punt, but a first down, a decent drive that ends in a Chris Boswell field goal, should be enough to get them off the field and ready for Week One.
“[We] want to work on some small things that we can work on, put on tape.”
This will be the team’s final tune-up until September 10 when the 49ers come to town. It’ll be the first time Pickett’s entered a season as the Steelers’ starter and he, like the rest of the offense, has to be ready to hit the ground running .
