Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett knows that the standard in Pittsburgh is Super Bowls and he is determined to help bring one home. Pickett begins his sophomore year tomorrow against the San Franchise 49ers and he said the goal this season is a championship.
Pickett sat down with Steve Mariucci, in an interview which will be aired on NFL Network’s NFL Game Day tomorrow morning, and said his goal is always to win a championship.
“Championship or bust,” said Pickett in a preview clip that was posted to Twitter by NFLMedia. “The way I was raised, at Pitt and my high school days, it’s always to win championships. Only reason why you play the game, right, [is] to get some jewelry at the end of the season. It feels good to have confetti raining down on you. I had it once in college for a conference championship so I couldn’t imagine the feeling of a Super Bowl championship, so that’s definitely always the goal.”
For Pickett to bring home a Super Bowl this year he will have to make a giant leap and slay the big three quarterbacks in the AFC of Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Josh Allen. It is certainly possible, and crazier things have happened, but it will require a big leap from Pittsburgh’s franchise quarterback.
Early returns on Pickett’s young career are promising. Despite throwing only seven touchdowns and nine interceptions last year, Pickett consistently improved throughout the year, ending the season with a ton of confidence. He continued his strong play from last year to this preseason, being arguably the best quarterback in the league during exhibition play as he orchestrated five touchdown drives while completing 13/15 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
That was preseason though, and Pickett will have to continue that momentum into the regular season. But, massive leaps are not something that is uncommon for Pickett. In his final year at Pitt he jumped from a good quarterback to a great one. Pickett had a increase of 29 touchdowns from 2020 to 2021 while also cutting down his interception numbers. He finished his final season with 42 touchdowns and only seven interceptions as he was a Heisman finalist.
That jump in play helped Pickett and Pitt win the ACC Championship. If Pickett can make a similar leap this year, who is to say he can’t fulfill his goal of championship or bust? He has the talent and the work ethic, and he is used to making big jumps, Pickett just has to do it. There is a lot of talent surrounding him, it is now up to him to make that leap.
Tomorrow, we will get our first look to see if Pickett has a chance making that leap which will help him fulfill his goal of winning a Super Bowl.
