Colin Cowherd and former NFL scout John Middlekauff reacted to games across the league on The Colin Cowherd Podcast, and Cowherd gave some props to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. While Cowherd has directed his fair share of criticism toward Pickett, he gave the second-year man credit for the way he carries himself and plays with confidence.
‘I don’t love Kenny Pickett. But I do think he plays with confidence,” Cowherd said. “To be a Steelers quarterback, you have to play with ego. It doesn’t matter, Bradshaw, Big Ben, you have to. Mike Tomlin’s teams are all big chest, big emotion, big swagger, they look great off the bus. And I think Kenny plays with enough of that. It might be false confidence, but it’s confidence.”
Even with Pickett throwing for less than 100 yards through the first three quarters of the game, he stepped up in the fourth quarter. He never doubted himself or lost the confidence that he could lead the Steelers to a win, and he put it all together in the fourth quarter. That’s what you want to see out of the guy who’s supposed to be your franchise quarterback.
Pickett’s stats haven’t been great, and he’s had prolonged periods in games where he doesn’t look all that great. But he’s been good in the fourth quarter and in the clutch, and the Steelers are 4-2 this season, and that’s the bottom line.
Middlekauff, a former Eagles scout, thinks that the Steelers have proven that they can be an 11-win team this season.
“The Steelers were able to keep their head above water, and now if they can gain a little momentum on offense…they’re probably an 11-win team. Maybe not a 14-win team like I thought, but they’re definitely better than that 8-9 feel they definitely had for about two-and-a-half weeks.”
If the offense can build off the performance it had in the fourth quarter against Los Angeles, 11 wins is certainly not out of the question. The way they’ve been able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on a few occasions this season makes a potential offensive resurgence dangerous, and if the offense can play with confidence for a full four quarters, the Steelers are going to be a dangerous team the rest of the way.
Despite two blowout losses, they’ve taken care of business against a lot of good teams, including the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in their division, and the Steelers look poised to contend in the AFC North right up until the end of the season. The big question is going to be can this team finally win a playoff game for the first time since 2016 if it can make the postseason, and that’s something that really should happen with the talent on this roster.
Watch the full episode of The Colin Cowherd Podcast below
