It took the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense a little while to get going Sunday night against the Las Vegas Raiders, but when they did, it came with a bang.
Halfway through the first quarter after going three-and-out for their first two drives, Pittsburgh caught lightning in a bottle. QB Kenny Pickett found WR Calvin Austin III down the middle of the field on a go route, Austin running away from the coverage as he reeled in the deep pass and turning on the jets from there, finishing in the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown.
Pickett spoke to the media after the game and was asked about Austin’s ability to make a game-changing play like that in just his third regular season game in the NFL after missing his entire rookie season with a foot injury.
“Love Cal,” Pickett said via video from the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “Just shows up every day, works really hard, is so talented and we can put him in those positions to be successful and get him down field. He’s gonna do that consistently. So, it’s something that we can continue to work on.”
While he doesn’t have much exposure to the regular season, we have seen Austin become a big play waiting to happen over the last couple of months. He came through in the preseason against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 67-yard TD, catching a deep pass from QB Mason Rudolph and running away from the coverage thanks to his elite speed. He came through with another big play in the next preseason game, making a 54-yard punt return against the Buffalo Bills to set Pittsburgh up deep inside Buffalo territory, and Pickett found TE Pat Freiermuth for the touchdown on the very next play.
Austin has the speed, burst, acceleration, and quickness to make a splash play any time he touches the ball. He’s like WR Tyreek Hill in the way that he can jump-start an offense, something that Pittsburgh desperately needed after its first two regular-season games and opening the game with two straight three-and-outs.
This isn’t to say that Austin is going to haul in a deep bomb touchdown on a weekly basis, but rather that he’s capable of doing it at any time and needs the opportunity to make it happen. That opportunity can come in the form of more targets and looks Austin’s way, but also in the scheme and if Pittsburgh is getting Austin in positions where he can challenge defenses vertically down the field.
The Steelers lacked that splash in the passing game last season, having their longest passing play come at the end of the season by WR George Pickens on a 31-yard scoring strike against the Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh now has two 70-plus-yard touchdowns in back-to-back games with Pickens having one and Austin having the one from Sunday night. He brings that explosive element Pittsburgh needs to utilize more in the passing game, and by what Pickett said, it sounds like Austin should see more opportunities to take the top off the defense going forward.
