Not only was it arguably the best performance of his young career Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, it was also a history-making one for second-year Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Pickett has taken care of the football quite well this season and now sits at 208 consecutive passes without an interception, surpassing the previous record held by former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, according to the CBS broadcast.
Pickett’s last interception came in the Week Four loss to the Houston Texans, a throw that came on the first drive of the game for the Steelers. Since then, Pickett has been smart and safe with the football.
To this point, that’s been the case for the young quarterback. He got off to a rough start early in his career, throwing eight interceptions in his first five games before turning things around after the Week Nine bye. Since then, Pickett has thrown just five interceptions in his last 19 games, including just four this season.
His smart, safe style has fit exactly what the Steelers have asked him to do so far in his career, which is take care of the football, not lose the game and make sure drives end in kicks, whether that’s a punt, field goal or extra point. More often than not, that’s been the case for the Steelers and Pickett.
Following the decision to move on from offensive coordinator Matt Canada last Tuesday, Pickett and the Steelers’ offense had their best game of the season, gaining over 400 yards for the first time in 58 games. Pickett took some chances with the football, attacked the middle of the field, made plays in the passing game and provided balance overall.
It was very encouraging from the Steelers’ offense, and from Pickett overall. He did that while taking care of the football, too, making history in the process. That’s progress.
