ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky went on The Pat McAfee Show Monday, and he praised the Steelers’ offense and QB Kenny Pickett for their performance in the team’s 23-18 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football.
First, Orlovsky praised the way the game was called by offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who he said was a bigger issue than Pickett last week.
“Way more creativity with the formations, way more creativity with how they utilized pass concepts, there wasn’t as many repeat pass concepts,” Orlovsky said. “Number two, Kenny was significantly better with his eye discipline. Significantly better.”
Orlovsky went on to say that nine out of 10 times you don’t make the throw that Pickett made on the 72-yard touchdown to Calvin Austin III in the first quarter, complimenting the way he used his eyes to keep the safety over the middle where he is. Orlovsky called the throw “absolutely perfect,” while saying it might have been the best throw of his NFL career.
If you go back and watch the play, it’s clear that Pickett is using his eyes and his body to hold the safety to the outside, where WR George Pickens is lined up and running his route. Once the safety holds and Austin clears his defender, all Pickett has to do is get the ball on him, which he does a great job of making a throw right on the money for the score.
While Pickett struggled in the first two weeks of the season, he had his best game of the year last night. Using his eyes to hold defenders and then turning and making a deep shot are the type of throws we saw him make in the preseason. Making that play seemed to give Pickett his confidence back. It wasn’t an elite performance, but it was solid, with Pickett throwing for 235 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, his first turnover-free game this season.
One other thing Orlovsky pointed out was the lack of repeat pass concepts. In Week One, Canada was blasted for trying to run a shallow cross concept eight times against the 49ers. He seemed to be better when it came to not repeating concepts in Week Two, and Orlovsky believes that carried over into Week Three, in addition to more creativity that opened up the offense.
It’s a level of play that hopefully Pickett can keep up as the season progresses. If the offense can continue to elevate, the Steelers should be able to compete in the AFC North, especially given that they currently lead the division.
Watch the full segment below:
