It should be very interesting to see how things look by Friday. Based on the initial timeline, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett should have a realistic chance to return to the starting lineup. But reinserting him would mean putting Mason Rudolph on the bench after quarterbacking the best game the team has had in years.
What decision do the Steelers make if Pickett is ready to return? Many—particularly those who’ve given up hope for the postseason this year—feel that they need to get Pickett back onto the field and see what they have in him before hiring a new offensive coordinator. That’s not how Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sees them approaching it.
“The Steelers’ goal is to make the playoffs, and they’ll do whatever they believe is best to achieve that goal”, he wrote in his first post-Christmas chat session. “The whole narrative about Pickett starting so the Steelers can see what they have in him is wrong. That’s not how the Steelers operate. Their stated [goal] every season is to win the Super Bowl. Whichever QB gives them the best chance to win on Sunday will be who starts”.
What we don’t yet know is how much health will play a role in reaching that decision by the end of the week. The Steelers decided to not even dress Pickett last week because they didn’t feel comfortable enough with his ankle and his mobility and ability to protect himself.
If he doesn’t make enough progress in this week’s practices to make them feel comfortable in his ability to protect himself and be effective, then the decision is an easy one to make. It gets a lot more interesting if he can move around well and get the ball down the field.
Then it’s much closer to a pure football question. Does Rudolph or Pickett give you a better chance to win Sunday’s game, on the road, against a Seattle Seahawks defense? Both of them protect the football better than Mitch Trubisky. Pickett struggles to score but finds ways to win. Rudolph’s sample size is incredibly low, with virtually no playing time since Pickett was drafted until last week.
Was the game against the Cincinnati Bengals so significant and convincing? Or are our standards just too low based on what we have been getting? How often do they hit that first-quarter slant for an 86-yard touchdown? And how much credit does Rudolph deserve for the 80ish yards after the catch on that one?
It’s not like Pickett hasn’t had some success on deep balls. He’s found Pickens and Calvin Austin III for long touchdowns this year. Not in the same game, of course, and he only has two completions of 40-plus yards since Week Three with a long of 43.
Truth be told, if Pickett is healthy, I don’t know who gives the Steelers the best chance to win this Sunday. It’s easy to say Rudolph by pointing to last week. It’s easy to say that he deserves the shot. But how easy is it to duplicate that success, especially on the road?
