The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Does Mitch Trubisky offer more playmaking potential in the passing game?
The attrition at the quarterback position in the NFL this year has been rather dramatic. By my count, six starting quarterbacks have gone down with season-ending injuries, from Aaron Rodgers to Daniel Jones, Deshaun Watson to Joe Burrow, and Kirk Cousins to Anthony Richardson. Others have also suffered significant but not season-ending injuries, including a couple this week.
Among them was Steelers QB Kenny Pickett, who injured his ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He is expected to miss two to four weeks, at least, following tightrope surgery to repair the ankle, leaving Mitch Trubisky to start in his place.
In contrast to the situations of most of the quarterbacks listed above, however, there is something of a sense that the drop-off at the quarterback position in Pittsburgh from the starter to the backup is not as dramatic.
Indeed, Pickett has been the most conservative quarterback in the NFL, with the lowest touchdown rate and the lowest interception rate among qualifying passers. Yet that seemed to be changing last week as his target regions became more adventurous in the first game without Matt Canada calling the plays as offensive coordinator.
There is a general perception among some that Trubisky offers more big-play potential. However, of the 28 explosive pass plays on the season, Pickett has 25 while Trubisky has three. Pickett also has a bit more than six times the number of pass attempts on the season as well.
Two of Trubisky’s three explosive pass plays came on deep pass attempts, while 19 of Pickett’s 25 were on deep pass attempts. Trubisky also has two of the team’s eight touchdown passes despite throwing far fewer pass attempts. If he is the more aggressive and more explosive option—and the riskier option, which we already know—he’ll have the next handful of games to prove it.
