Watching the Steelers defeat the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday was like watching nearly any game that Pittsburgh comes out of victorious. They like to win close, and they like to win ugly, and they got both done for a second-straight game against the Rams. Failing to do much of anything offensively to start the game, they came alive in the fourth quarter with their best offensive production of the season in the waning moments.
QB Kenny Pickett had arguably his best game of the season against Los Angeles, coming up in the clutch yet again with some key throws two help Pittsburgh score three touchdowns in the second half, all being run in after having no rushing scores to start the season. The CBS crew members of the segment Moving The Chains spoke about Pittsburgh’s victory on Monday, picking whether each believed Pittsburgh would be a playoff team this season based on its start. Adam Schein stated that he believes that Pittsburgh would make the postseason thanks to its defense while believing that we haven’t seen the best football yet from Pickett.
“It’s not Kenny Pickett leading them to the playoffs yet, it’s the defense,” Schein said via video from NFL on CBS’ Twitter page. “I view Pittsburgh as a playoff team. I love your point though about [Diontae] Johnson. Doesn’t get talked about enough. He’s back. I know people like to get on Matt Canada. I like to get on Matt Canada. I still think there’s another level here for Kenny Pickett. I think Pittsburgh’s making the playoffs.”
Pickett played better in Pittsburgh’s win against the Rams, but he still got off to a slow start, something that has plagued the young quarterback since being drafted last year. It seems as if Pickett needs two to three quarters to work out the jitters, get a couple bad throws out of him, and then settle in to perform at a high level and get this offense moving. There were moments in the first half against the Rams where you saw that from Pickett. But there needs to be more consistency from him throughout the entire game to prevent being streaky as former Steelers DL Chris Hoke called him after Sunday’s performance.
The defense has been the foundation of this team as its efforts have come up big in wins against the Browns, Ravens, and Rams. The duo of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith has been wrecking opposing offenses while other members like CB Joey Porter Jr. and LB Cole Holcomb have also made a profound impact in games.
Pittsburgh needs Pickett to be steadier to match what the defense is providing on a week-to-week basis (outside of a couple of blowouts). Schein tends to believe that there is another level to Pickett’s game that has yet to be tapped into. If Pickett can just start faster and play like he did to end the game against Los Angeles, we may see his game take a jump as more than a second half/fourth quarter quarterback but rather a guy you can rely on to lead this team to the postseason with a gritty defense complementing him.
