Pittsburgh Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky did not get much time to prepare for his first start of the 2023 season. He was inserted into the lineup two Sundays ago when starting QB Kenny Pickett went down with an ankle injury against the Arizona Cardinals. Then Trubisky had to turn around and prepare to start four days later against the New England Patriots on Thursday night. Neither game went well, and part of that certainly could be due to the much less-than-ideal circumstances for both Trubisky and the Steelers as a whole.
However, with Pickett still be sidelined, Trubisky will get a full week of practice to prepare for Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. He certainly did not complain about the extra prep time compared to the previous game when he spoke with the media on Tuesday afternoon per video from Steelers.com.
“We need the reps,” Trubisky said. “I need the reps. Just allows me to continue to get comfortable in the offense and continue to work on timing with these guys and operating the offense. So a full week of work is gonna be helpful.”
While it’s not like Trubisky is new to the team, there’s still a big difference in time with the first-team offense as a backup versus the starter. Trubisky did not have much time at all to prepare for the Patriots game due to the condensed week, and it showed.
Trubisky posted a 62.9 completion percentage, but he struggled early in the game. While the Steelers were able to get a field goal in the first quarter, the Patriots were able to jump out to a 21-3 lead with just under eight minutes left in the second quarter. The offense as a whole struggled early. Trubisky was able to lead the Steelers to two touchdown drives and make the game close but was unable to complete the comeback.
“Slow start,” Trubisky said about what he took away from the Patriots game. “I gotta be better on third downs. Gotta execute better and just continue to get on the same page with these guys. Made some better plays in the second half, but it’s gotta be better this week.”
Trubisky is historically a fast starter on offense. Per Pro Football Reference, Trubisky has completed 71.1% of his passes, has averaged 7.0 yards per attempt, and boasts a 93.8 quarterback rating in the first quarter, all of which are higher than every other quarter in his career.
That’s a far cry from how well the Steelers have fared on offense this season. In the first quarter, Steelers quarterbacks are completing 62.7% of their passes, averaging 6.0 yards per pass, and have a quarterback rating of 67.2. That’s much worse than the third or fourth quarters. Steelers quarterbacks complete fewer passes and average fewer yards per pass in the second quarter, but they have thrown for three touchdowns and only one interception versus one touchdown and three interceptions in the first quarter all season.
That’s a lot of offensive ineptitude early in games this season. However, if Trubisky and the rest of the offense are able to start the game on the same page, that could be promising for a team that is floundering after two straight losses to teams that only had two wins entering gameday. The Steelers still have plenty to play for, but there has to be a major improvement on offense if Pittsburgh wants to get back to the playoffs.
