Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett had some ups and downs on Sunday night, as the team fell to 2-5. In his third career start, he threw three interceptions against the Miami Dolphins. No interception was more costly than the last one, which ended the game with under 20 seconds remaining.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett works with quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan at practice. | Credit: Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers
It's all a part of the maturation process, as Pickett showed some flashes of brilliance in the Week 7 loss. Now, they have a must-win game in Week 8 against one of the best teams in football, the Philadelphia Eagles. Looking back on the game, the rookie wasn't too happy with his performance, particularly the three turnovers. Here's what he had to say after a devastating loss:
"Miscommunication. I thought Diontae was gonna come back down, he went vertical. That's on me. I gotta either throw it away or make a better throw over the top," Pickett said in his post-game presser. "There's some things to build on, but obviously turnovers, they can't happen. That cost us the game. I gotta fix that, I'll be in tomorrow.
Again, you have to take your lumps with a guy that's in his first professional season. Ben Roethlisberger went through these same kind of struggles early in his career before he went on to have a Hall of Fame-worthy career. In his third career season in 2006, Roethlisberger threw a league-high 23 interceptions. Once again, he led the league in interceptions in 2018 with 16.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) calls signals against the Cleveland Browns during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright)
Across four games and 127 pass attempts, Pickett has thrown seven interceptions. To be fair to him, at least a few of those have been bad luck. Even last night, wide receiver Chase Claypool fell down on the first interception, giving the Dolphins an easy turnover. The NBC broadcast and rules expert Terry McAulay admitted the play should have been called a pass interference. Still, the responsibility is on Pickett to take care of the ball.
The rookie's seven interceptions are third-most in the NFL at the moment, behind veterans Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan. That's despite Pickett having over 100 less attempts than the two others, as he hadn't started a game until Week 5. There were still some positives to take away from the game on Sunday though, as the offense moved the ball well (at times).
Pickett was able to spread the wealth throughout the game, as Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens continue to be his go-to targets. Diontae Johnson continues to be targeted as a secondary option, while Claypool had another solid outing. It's also nice to hear Pickett take some accountability for his costly mistakes, as the offense will need to clean those up moving forward.
Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
Are you concerned with Pickett's decision-making in crucial moments? Do you see these as the typical growing pains for a young quarterback? What were your thoughts on the offense on Sunday evening? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!
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