Ben Roethlisberger knows what it’s like. To get amped up for a season and then immediately get punched in the mouth. It happened in 2011 when the Pittsburgh Steelers were rolled by the Baltimore Ravens 35-7. And in 2019 when the New England Patriots unfurled their Super Bowl banner and then celebrated by drubbing the Steelers 33-3.
Roethlisberger knows one game doesn’t make a season. But he also understands Kenny Pickett has to play a whole lot better than he did for the Steelers to have the season they want. He’s far from the only one but on the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger broke down Pickett’s sub-par play and the poor performance of the entire team top to bottom.
“It looked to me like the Steelers were playing in the preseason still and the Niners were amped up for the postseason already,” Roethlisberger told his co-host Spence. “Just the way the speed looked, the way the plays were. I thought Kenny was off today, which we hadn’t seen all preseason.”
If only the Steelers looked like their preseasons selves. But Roethlisberger’s point is well-taken. The San Francisco 49ers were the team who came to play. Pickett finished the dismal performance going 31-of-46 for 232 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Even those numbers, which certainly aren’t impressive, don’t tell the whole story. Most of those yards came with the game decided and aside from a two-minute drill at the end of the first half, the Steelers couldn’t move the ball. Pickett’s accuracy waned and he made poor decisions, missing Diontae Johnson for an easy touchdown while later making a poor read to TE Connor Heyward, resulting in a tipped interception.
“He was off today, and he hadn’t been off at all so far. He was behind on a lot of throws. He missed a lot of throws that he shouldn’t miss.”
Roethlisberger praised his touchdown to Pat Freiermuth, a ball zipped in perfectly to close out the half, but it was about the lone bright spot on his day. Through 14 games and 13 starts, Pickett has yet to throw for multiple touchdowns in a game. Compare that to his 2022 counterpart Brock Purdy, the last pick of his draft class, who has thrown for at least two touchdowns in every start of his young career. He tossed a pair yesterday, both to WR Brandon Aiyuk, who had his way with CB Patrick Peterson.
Despite Pickett’s problems, Roethlisberger stood by him.
“I feel confident he’s going to bounce back,” Roethlisberger said. “And be ready to go.”
Pickett must rebound Monday night against the Cleveland Browns. While Pittsburgh will have the advantage of being home, the Browns are coming off a huge performance in an upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals. They dominated Joe Burrow and company, holding Burrow to only 82 yards passing and zero touchdowns. By the game’s end, the Bengals had pulled him to avoid injury.
If the Steelers win, it’ll be because Pickett played far better. Through two weeks, they’ll be sitting at 1-1 with an AFC North win and tied with the Browns. Life won’t be so bad. But if they lose, look out. Pittsburgh will be 0-2, Cleveland will be in 2-0, and the Steelers could be in for a long year.
Listen to the whole episode below.
