The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns in painful fashion, so naturally the hot takes about this team are rolling in. Following the Steelers’ 13-10 loss in Week 11, Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and Dan Orlovsky sat down with Molly Qerim to debate whether it’s more questionable for the New York Jets to stick with Zach Wilson or the Steelers to stick with Kenny Pickett.
“I think it’s more questionable for the Steelers to stick with Pickett,” Sharpe said. “Because I think they do have a guy in Mitchell Trubisky who did take a Chicago Bears team to the playoffs. At least Trubisky is 31-24 with 69 touchdowns.”
Just 22 games into Pickett’s career, the calls to replace him in Pittsburgh grow louder by the week. He has protected the football well, with a 175-attempt streak without an interception, but that is one of the only good things that can be said about him right now. Pickett is in a league of his own when it comes to touchdown percentage among quarterbacks who have attempted 500-plus passes since the merger. With a run game that is finally clicking and a defense that handles its business for the most part, he is running out of excuses as to why he is struggling to score.
“Kenny Pickett, man,” Sharpe continued. “He just can’t even make routine throws, that’s what is so disheartening.”
Pickett finished the day with 15 completions on 28 attempts for 106 yards. There were also multiple moments in the game, including in the critical final offensive drive, where he seemed to be on a different page than his receivers.
Smith disagreed with Sharpe about moving on from Pickett.
“Here’s why I disagree with you, Shannon,” he said. “‘Cause when I heard Najee Harris speaking, that wasn’t just about the quarterback. He’s talking about that offensive coordinator…Matt Canada has to go.”
Smith is a known Steelers fan, but he hasn’t shied away from criticizing this team throughout the season.
“Look at what Kyle Shanahan was able to do with some of the quarterbacks that he’s had that nobody thought much of,” he said. “But Kyle Shanahan knows how to call a damn game. Matt Canada doesn’t, and that’s the bottom line.”
Canada has not seen his offense reach the 400-yard mark in a single game for which he has been the offensive coordinator. The Steelers hold the second-longest streak over the last 30 seasons without 400 yards of offense at 58 games in a row.
“Changing the quarterback in either situation is not going to have a profound impact in a positive way,” Orlovsky chimed in. “Both of these offenses are bad.”
