In the first 17 games of his NFL career, Pittsburgh Steelers second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett has shown quite the knack for making plays late in games.
In those 17 games, Pickett has engineered five game-winning drives, and four fourth-quarter comebacks for the Steelers.
He recorded his most recent game-winning drive in Week Five against the Baltimore Ravens at home, going 4-of-6 on the drive for 78 yards. Pickett hit wide receiver George Pickens for a 41-yard touchdown down the sideline over Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey for the game-winning score in the eventual 17-10 win.
For private quarterbacks coach Tony Racioppi, Pickett’s abilities late in games show that he’s just “wired that way” when it comes to big moments.
“It comes back to the work that he puts in, so he’s confident in what he’s going to do. Everyone talks about the Cover Zero play, he hits George [Pickens] for the winning touchdown, and I guarantee he’s made that throw 30 times,” Racioppi said during an appearance on the 93.7 The Fan Morning Show Thursday. “There’s a work ethic there and a confidence in his ability.
“He’s the ultimately competitor. The bigger the moment, the better he is. He’s always, always been that way. Has it been pretty through five games? No. But at the end of the day he’s going to step up and make plays when they need him the most. I think he’s just wired that way.”
Calling Pickett the “ultimate competitor” is pretty accurate at this point. He has a knack for doing these things late in games, finding a way to win when the chips are down, making just enough plays late to lead the Steelers to a win.
He did it four times as a rookie with all four coming in the second half of the season. He did it again in Week Five against the Ravens, helping drag the Steelers across the finish line later after a rather dreadful performance from the offense through the first three-and-a-half quarters or so.
The Cover Zero beater to Pickens is the one gaining a lot of attention — and rightfully so. Pickett identified the coverage quickly pre-snap, adjusted his protection, changed Pickens’ route and threw a perfect ball for the touchdown. It was a great play from an offense that has really struggled throughout the season.
But as Racioppi pointed out, that’s a play Pickett has worked on a bunch, and that confidence late in games from him is unshakeable regardless of what happened earlier in the game. It would be nice if Pickett and the offense could do that throughout games rather than waiting until the end to pull out a win, but a win is a win, no matter how it comes.
Hopefully that ability late in games to make plays starts to show itself earlier in games as Pickett continues to develop in the NFL. Not many quarterbacks have the late-game abilities Pickett has. It’s that “it” factor.
