Nineteen games and 18 starts into his career in the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers second-year quarterback has a real knack for late-game heroics.
In those 19 games, Pickett already has five fourth-quarter comebacks and six game-winning drives.
When the moment is biggest and the lights are the brightest, Pickett never shrinks from the moment, instead rising to meet the challenge, often succeeding in a big way.
That continued in Week Seven on the road against the Los Angeles Rams. Entering the fourth quarter trailing 17-10, Pickett and the Steelers caught fire, generating 190 yards of total offense in the final 15 minutes, scoring two touchdowns and running away for a 24-17 win to move to 4-2.
In the final 15 minutes of action, Pickett was a perfect 7-of-7 for 138 yards. His success late in games is no real surprise to veteran center Mason Cole, who stated that Pickett is just starting to show his moxie late in games more consistently.
“He doesn’t change, man. He’s steady Eddie. He’s just a winner, man,” Cole said to reporters Wednesday, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “In those big moments, he performs and executes and I think we’re starting to see that pretty consistently now.”
Pickett is a winner, that much is certain. Since taking over as the starting quarterback of the Steelers in Week Four of his rookie season, Pickett is 11-7 as a starter. Though he still has more interceptions than touchdowns in his career, Pickett comes up large in the fourth quarter time and time again.
According to previous data compiled by Steelers Depot’s own Joe Cammarota, Pickett elevates his game from a statistical standpoint in the fourth quarter. According to the numbers Cammarota compiled, Pickett has a completion percentage of 62%, averages 6.3 yards per attempt, and has a quarterback rating of 77.3. When isolating his numbers to when he is trailing in the fourth quarter, Pickett’s completion percentage jumps to 70.6, he averages nine yards per attempt, and he has a quarterback rating of 93.7.
Those numbers are rather eye-opening, considering the Steelers’ offense has so many issues early in games. But when the fourth quarter starts and the Steelers need a spark, Pickett takes his game to a new level.
When the game is on the line, he becomes a completely different quarterback and starts making plays he wasn’t earlier in games. He’s wired a different way, as his personal QB coach Tony Racioppi has stated previously. That’s on display consistently.
He has the respect and trust of his teammates, who know that in big spots Pickett is going to be that calm, consistent guy he always is. That’s a defining trait. Now he just needs to find the consistency for entire games.
