NFL insider Adam Caplan was a guest on Ferrall Coast to Coast on Sports Grid Radio today, and he said he was told by a source who’s watched Pickett closely that he “took a big step back” during Sunday’s loss against the San Francisco 49ers. Caplan also talked about his concern for the Steelers going forward.
“He was completely lost. He was off on his accuracy, did not throw with any anticipation or timing. Took a big step back in this game,” Caplan said. “He threw the ball way better with better velocity in training camp. He was none of that in this game.”
Caplan said he’s worried about the Steelers getting a win in Week Two over the Cleveland Browns.
“You look at this game Monday Night, they host the division rivals who had an unbelievable performance against the Bengals. 0-2 could be staring them in the face.”
Scott Ferrall, the show’s host, said he’s more concerned about the Bengals and Joe Burrow struggling against Cleveland than the Steelers laying an egg against the 49ers, who he thinks are Super Bowl contenders. Ferrall picked the Steelers ahead of the matchup.
“The history of teams at 0-2 making the playoffs is small,” Caplan said. “The Steelers have to bounce back.”
It’s not any sort of groundbreaking information that Pickett looked bad on Sunday. But the key for the Steelers is going to be getting Pickett right and having him bounce back ahead of their Week Two matchup against the Browns. He was bad on Sunday, missing throws, making the wrong reads, and certainly not playing like the quarterback who was the talk of the NFL during the preseason.
Normally, the Steelers would be favored over the Browns, especially at home. After each team’s respective Week One performance, that’s not the case. Whether Sunday’s performance by Cleveland was a case of them overperforming or the Bengals underperforming, there’s zero doubt that going in and thoroughly dominating a division rival is going to give them the confidence to go and do the same thing next week.
Pittsburgh can’t be caught licking their wounds after their dreadful Week One, and need to gear up and be ready to stop Nick Chubb, Myles Garrett and company. And as bad as Pickett was, it was just one game. The 49ers front got to him early, and he was rattled.
It was one of the worst games of his career, throwing two picks and just looking off all game. But the Browns front seven got better this offseason, and with guys like Za’Darius Smith in the fold alongside Garrett, Pickett is going to need to be ready to face pressure again. Whatever caused things to go so sideways on Sunday for Pickett and the rest of the team needs to be fixed before the Steelers dig themselves into a 0-2 hole.
