The Pittsburgh Steelers had a productive first half offensively (aside from the penalties) in the third and final preseason game against the Detroit Lions with Mitch Trubisky leading the offense at quarterback for the majority of the time. Trubisky is the clear-cut favorite to start week one against the Cincinnati Bengals, but the leash for the veteran may be short with how will rookie first-round pick, Kenny Pickett has played throughout the pre-season.
Pickett will now enter most likely enter the contest and play a few series in order to make his case to be QB1. He has slowly worked his way closer and closer to Trubisky, but the former Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills quarterback seems to have won the job Sunday afternoon.
| Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Trubisky is competing for the starting job after signing a two-year contract with the Steelers this past off-season. He has not made many mistakes throughout the pre-season and has the pedigree and experience to lead the offense in 2022.
The offensive line did not do Trubisky any favors with multiple penalties in the first quarter, but he went 15 for 19 and threw for 160 yards and a touchdown. The most impressive throw he had was finding Diontae Johnson down the sideline on a 3rd and short in the first quarter. It was a beautiful throw and placed perfectly in the hands of Johnson who made a great catch. It was thrown in a spot that only the Steelers wide receiver could get to. Unfortunately, Johnson was injured on the play.
Mitchell Trubisky dropping DIMES to Diontae Johnson 🎯 pic.twitter.com/uMztloqXpj
— PFF (@PFF) August 28, 2022
To the surprise of many, Trubisky played the entire first half. The Steelers put 16 points points and the key for the starting quarterback was that he didn't make any serious mistakes. A holding penalty on Chukwuma Okorafor almost stalled the final drive of the half, but Trubisky went on to connect on four consecutive passes, highlighted by a 22-yard pass to George Pickens and 32-yard dime to Pat Freiermuth that set up a red zone opportunity.
Trubisky then found Steven Sims on the very next play for a 6-yard touchdown pass and solidified his role as the the team's starting quarterback. He was extremely accurate and other than a couple questionable decisions on the first drive, was all around solid.
He has the ability to be even more effective heading into the season if the offensive line is somehow fixed and the running game is more successful. The offense only had seven carries for 28 yards in the first half and two of those rushes were from Gunner Olszewski. The offense has the weapons and Trubisky displayed his ability to utilize them Sunday afternoon. The last thing to address and correct is the horrible play from the big men up front.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Gunner Olszewski (#89) practices at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex during the 2022 Minicamp, Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Pickett will now get his turn as Trubisky rests for the remainder of the game, but this has never been a battle that the rookie could essentially win, but more so, one that the experienced veteran was going to have to lose in the pre-season. That is not what happened on Sunday afternoon. When the Steelers take on the Bengals two Sundays from now, Trubisky will be the starter and he will really need to struggle early on if Pickett wants a shot at being the lead signal-caller.
How do you think Trubisky played and did he solidify his position as the starting quarterback for the Steelers? Let us know in the comments below!
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