Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett’s final numbers ahead of the bye week are, shall we say, uninspiring. Although he has the longest pass play in the NFL so far at 72 yards, that’s his only notable statistic. He ranks 20th in passing yards (1,027) and 26th in yards per attempt (6.5). He has just five touchdowns and his four interceptions are tied for 11th. His passer rating of 78.8 also ranks 27th.
He needs a vacation, according to KDKA analyst and former Steeler Chris Hoke, to clear his head before the start of the long stretch of 12 games without a break on the other side of the bye week. Not that I suspect he’ll be going anywhere.
“I would send him to the Bahamas for a week. Let him clear his mind a little bit”, he said on the KDKA postgame show with Bob Pompeani. “The guy knows the offense. He’s studied. He just needs to calm down and relax, come back refreshed and ready to go”.
He did say that he believes Pickett has the arm and the rapport with his wide receivers to succeed if only he can get an opportunity to breathe and to get together with offensive coordinator Matt Canada to work things out. “It’s just a matter of slowing his mind down. When he stood in the pocket and let plays develop and drives the ball, he has success”.
For the game, Pickett only completed 18-of-32 pass attempts for 224 yards. He did connect with WR George Pickens for a 41-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, for what proved to be the game-winning score.
He also avoided turnovers, probably his cleanest game of the season in that regard. It was his fourth straight game throwing for over 200 yards, however. He did not have any games as a rookie throwing for 200-plus in back-to-back weeks. But he’s not where he needs to be, according to Hoke.
“He’s just got to slow down and let plays develop”, he added. “I think his internal clock is happening so fast that boom, he’s getting rid of the ball. That’s why everybody is saying just calm down, just slow down. I think the more snaps he’ll get, I hope that that will come and help him throw the ball down the field and stretch defenses”.
The bye week proved to be a critical reset point for the Steelers last year, particularly on offense, though it also got them back T.J. Watt on defense. Specifically, the offense found ways to keep drives alive and control tempo and the clock with extended drives, even if not a ton of them found the end zone.
This year, the Steelers have far more three-and-out drives than touchdown drives. They’ve only produced five touchdowns offensively in five games. They are averaging under 13 points per game as produced by the offense, which is pitiful. It should be double that.
If Pickett can’t find another level in two weeks’ time, it will be hard to find much confidence in the fate of this season. That won’t put the nail in his “franchise quarterback” coffin, but there’s no question that he needs to continue to show improvement. So far, one can easily argue that he’s regressed since last year.
