You might not know it by how the fans react, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are actually 2-1 on the season with a share of the AFC North lead, having played some of the toughest games on their schedule already. Things could be worse. Most focus on what can be better.
And much of that focus was on second-year QB Kenny Pickett, who looked like anything but a franchise piece through the first two weeks of the season. Barring a few plays here and there, last night did offer a marked improvement. He even impressed Steve Smith, the former NFL wide receiver and now analyst.
“He had some athletic scrambles. That’s where you’re talking about, the footwork did not go haywire”, he said on NFL GameDay in his post-game analysis. “Anticipation was there. Staying poised. Timing. Staying on rhythm. Kenny Pickett did that. He threw it to the guys that are open, and then he made sure that he could put the team away by making good decisions”.
As general observations, I tend to agree with his assessment, but there were still issues in areas we’ve been talking about since he was drafted. Vacating clean pockets and in doing so creating pressure was a theme on the night. He only took one sack, but it was one he could have avoided. And yet again, he escaped an interception because the defender—in this case former Ravens CB Marcus Peters—couldn’t finish the play, which might have gone for six.
There are still issues with ball placement as well, which seem so much in contrast to what we were seeing from him during the preseason. Still, now is the time to focus on the improvements, and back-to-back weeks with 70-plus-yard touchdowns is a good place to start.
One thing I particularly liked was the offense’s ability to respond to going down early, instead of continuing to dig the hole deeper. They still started off poorly, failing to gain a first down on their first two drives, but Pickett hit WR Calvin Austin III for the 72-yard score just after the Raiders got on the board.
After one more punt, they then scored on their next four meaningful possessions, even if three of those scores were field goals. It was the first time all season they were able to build a substantial lead, at one point going up by 16.
They still need to figure out how to get off the fast starts, and the offense failed to close this one out. The Steelers did pick up one important first down toward the very end, but still had to punt. The running game is the bigger issue, particularly the blocking.
But one can only hope at this time that things are coming along. Pickett did look better, and doing so on the road after playing two home games is sort of a bonus. In theory, he should be able to play just as well inside Acrisure Stadium the next time they’re there, and before you know it, he will have Diontae Johnson back to throw to as well as George Pickens and Austin continue to grow in the meantime.
