One week ago after the Pittsburgh Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada, NFL analyst Greg Cosell stated that what second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett was at that point was unknown.
It’s still unknown what Pickett is right now, but his performance in Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals was quite encouraging. Pickett completed 24-of-33 passes for 278 yards in the 16-10 win over the Bengals and looked as confident as he’s looked in his career.
He was outstanding in the quick game, reading the field quickly and correctly, getting rid of the ball quickly to his playmakers, leading to some big plays offensively.
For Cosell, who appeared on the Ross Tucker Podcast Thursday morning, the performance against the Bengals is a good building block game for the second-year quarterback, who showed real signs of improvement in the first post-Canada game.
“Between the hashes prior to this game, they had among the fewest attempts in the league working inside. And you can’t take that out of your offense. You’ve got to work inside. That’s what the NFL is because of where the hash marks are located. You have to be able to be effective with your passing game inside. So that was one thing that immediately stood out that they worked inside between the hashes, between the numbers,” Cosell said of Pickett and the Steelers’ passing game against the Bengals, according to video via the Ross Tucker Podcast YouTube page.
Right away, the Steelers came out under new offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner and play caller Mike Sullivan and exacted a change. Pickett fired a 24-yard dart to tight end Pat Freiermuth up the seam on the first play from scrimmage, utilizing the middle of the field.
It wasn’t just a one-play thing, either. Pickett later hit Freiermuth on a 3rd and 13 to pick up 29 yards down the middle and also hit wide receiver Diontae Johnson on a crossing route over the middle on a third down in the second half.
The Steelers did a nice job of attacking the middle of the field with route concepts designed to get the ball there. Pickett trusted the concepts and had full confidence in himself, ripping the throws. It was a welcome sign.
For Cosell, it came down to decisiveness from Pickett, which is something the Steelers need to build on.
“I don’t know what it is, but Kenny Pickett looked so much more decisive. The ball came out, he wasn’t moving around as much. He looked far more comfortable on his drop, his sets in the pocket. This was a good building block game, I thought, for both Pickett and the passing game,” Cosell added.
Pickett definitely looked decisive and much more comfortable in the pocket. It was noticeable right away.
He got to the top of his drops and the ball was coming out quick and on time. In recent weeks he appeared to be less confident, overthinking at times and holding onto the football, missing some reads and taking some sacks.
That wasn’t the case against the Bengals, and it was a welcome development for not only the passing game, but Pickett himself.
He still might be a bit unknown as to what the Steelers have in him, but Sunday was a good building block for the second-year quarterback. Hopefully there’s more of that coming from Pickett.
