While Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett has been able to turn into a different quarterback when the fourth quarter rolls around this season, he’s had his share of issues throwing the football in the first three quarters. His accuracy was an issue earlier in the season and that’s a problem that’s once again cropped up in recent weeks. On Good Morning Football, former NFL offensive lineman Shaun O’Hara said the NFL “isn’t the NBA” and Pickett needs to put a complete game together so the Steelers don’t fall behind early and put themselves out of position to win.
“I wanna see Kenny Pickett play well in the first half. Don’t wait ’till the fourth quarter,” O’Hara said Friday morning. “This isn’t the NBA. You can’t win the game in the first half, but you can certainly lose it. Let’s see Kenny Pickett, first half.”
Pickett is a much, much different player when the fourth quarter rolls around. His passer rating through the first three quarters is 75.3. Then in the fourth, he turns it up and his passer rating is 108.2.
If there’s one quarter to be good in, especially with how close Pittsburgh’s games have been this season, it’s certainly the fourth quarter. The Steelers offense isn’t good enough to bury teams in the first half, so to O’Hara’s point it would be the Steelers losing games early if they can’t put enough offense on the board.
And the Steelers’ lack of first-half offense has cost them in their three losses this season, as they’ve managed just a total of 10 points in the first half in their three losses. They’ve allowed opponents to put up 45 points, and getting outscored 45-10 in a half is not a winning formula. But the fact remains that Pickett has led three fourth-quarter comebacks this season too, so he’s been playing winning football down the stretch when the game hangs in the balance.
But the Steelers will be a much better and much more successful team if he can find a way to put it all together for four quarters. The Steelers might not have three losses right now if Pickett and the offense had put up more points in the first half. O’Hara’s point is valid, especially when it relates to the Steelers. Their offense isn’t built for climbing out of big holes, and while they find a way to win close games, if they get down multiple scores in the first half, the odds of them coming are very slim. That’s why it’s so important to figure out what’s going on with Pickett in quarters one through three and work on it to make him a guy who can actually play a complete game.
