There has not been a hotter quarterback this preseason than Pittsburgh Steelers' Kenny Pickett. In two games, he's gone 9/11 with 113 yards and two scores. In year one, Pickett finished the last nine games of the season (playing in eight of them), going 6-2 and just barely missed the playoffs. Heading into year two, the offense has come out swinging, looking much improved. They're making huge plays, including two Pickett touchdown throws over 25 yards and a 62-yard touchdown run by Jaylen Warren. With all that said, radio host Colin Cowherd still believes there is no chance that Pickett and the Steelers could hoist a Lombardi Trophy in 2023.
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Steelers' Kenny Pickett led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter vs the Baltimore Ravens in 2022.
Cowherd Doesn't Believe Steelers Are Good Enough To Win Super Bowl
The NFL is a quarterback-driven league and most of the time, if you do not have an elite quarterback and coach, you can not win a Super Bowl. What history would tell or show you would be a team like the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who not only made it to the Super Bowl, but won it all with Trent Dilfer at the helm (who I think most would agree is not as talented as Pickett). So how did they do it? Well, they did it by having the number one defense in the NFL that year, as well as being able to run the football.
On paper, it looks like the Steelers could have the perfect recipe to sneak in and win a Super Bowl. The defense that finished in the top 10 for total defense only got better by adding linebacker depth and a veteran All-Pro defensive back in Patrick Peterson. The offense also added even more weapons in Allen Robinson and Darnell Washington. However on Tuesday's episode of The Herd, when Cowherd was asked if he thinks Pickett and the Steelers could win a Super Bowl in 2023, his answer was short and not so sweet.
%202023%20Camp%20Final%20with%20Logos/2L9A5042-544x306.jpg "Steelers Darnell Washington")
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Steelers' Darnell Washington plays a little catch to warm up at the team's 2023 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
"No, and go through [Joe] Burrow and [Josh] Allen and Lamar [Jackson] and [Patrick] Mahomes and Russell [Wilson] and [Sean] Payton?"
Steelers Super Bowl Odds
Cowherd went on to say he would put them in the category of winning a playoff game, but that Pickett is not going into Arrowhead, Cincinnati, or Baltimore and winning to go on to a Super Bowl. As far as the Steelers' Super Bowl odds, they're currently set at +6000. That is to be expected after missing the playoffs in 2022.
The sample size of Pickett is too small to say he can't go and win in these various hostile environments in a postseason. Only time will tell with this being his first full offseason with the team as the starter and Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada. Canada received plenty of criticism in 2022 for seemingly having Pickett on training wheels and not allowing him to throw the ball downfield or audible at the line. In 2022, the offense finished near the bottom of the barrel ranking 26th in total points and 24th in total pass yards. In the first two weeks of the 2023 preseason, we have seen an almost unrecognizable play selection with footballs being thrown all over the field and scoring at will.
Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, left, listens to Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada during the first day of the NFL football team’s minicamp, in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.
Kenny Pickett's Goals for 2023
So much of the NFL is a business and about making money. Some players are out there strictly for a paycheck and winning football games comes second in their mind. Many players in the NFL have contract goals they want to meet to earn incentives, like total passing yards, touchdowns, or even the percentage of snaps on the field can get a player millions of dollars in bonus money. Pickett only has one thing on his mind this year and it is winning. Most importantly, winning a Super Bowl. Back in May of this year, Pickett was on 93.7 The Fan and was asked if he had individual goals for this year.
"Super Bowl... If you're in the Super Bowl and you win it all, the individual goals you set are going to be met."
Super Bowl Or Bust?
What would be considered a successful season? Is it just a playoff win? Or is it Super Bowl or bust in 2023? What do you Yinz think? Let me know in the comments.
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