Patrick Peterson has not been one to mince words since arriving in Pittsburgh. More than that, as a veteran leader, he has continually voiced his confidence in his team.
Today, on DraftKings’ GoJo and Golic show, he continued this trend as he talked about the Steelers’ prospects for the rest of the season.
“The sky’s the limit for us man,” said Peterson when talking about Pittsburgh continuing its offensive success. “We just want to continue to keep this train on the track and keep it rolling with a full head of steam and see where it takes us.”
In the first game without Matt Canada as offensive coordinator since 2020, the Steelers broke past their previous limit, recording their first 400-yard game of offense in 58 games.
Instead of grinding it out and waiting for the fourth quarter, which the team is accustomed to, in last week’s matchup against the Bengals, Pittsburgh came out firing, with QB Kenny Pickett hitting TEPat Friermuth for a chunk opening play. And while the score may not reflect it, the big shots didn’t end there either with Diontae Johnson and George Pickens both catching long passes as well.
“I liked what I saw,” said Peterson said of Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan’s revitalized offense. “From having receivers in motion to try to identify coverages on the back end, you know trying to make Kenny’s job a little bit more easier.”
For Pickett, this was sorely needed. The Pitt product was not absolved from criticism during the Canada era, making head-scratching decisions and missing receivers on a game-to-game basis.
The quarterback flipped the script in last Sunday’s game, throwing for 278 yards on the day, the second-most in his career. It is the first time this season he has eclipsed the 250-yard mark and the fourth time in his career that he has done so.
To give context, Pickett has started 23 games in his career. In Patrick Mahomes’ first 23 games he went over 250 yards passing 20 times and over 300 yards 13 times. Pickett has thrown for over 300 yards once — in his first NFL start.
We’re comparing apples to oranges here. The Steelers do not win in the same way the Kansas City Chiefs do, especially when Mahomes first entered the league.
So Pickett does not need to be like the two-time MVP. Instead, he just needs to be comfortable in the team’s offense to see if the sky truly is the limit for the Steelers.
