Former Steelers QB Kenny Pickett's Intriguing Preseason Heroics Continue As Eagles Head Coach Applauds His Performance

The Pittsburgh Steelers are officially back playing football at Acrisure Stadium, as they hosted their first preseason matchup Friday night. All eyes were on quarterback Justin Fields to see if he's taken any steps to earn the starting job, but he and the first-team offense weren't able to put any points on the board. Steeler Nation wasn't going to get too excited even if Fields had a perfect game because the fan base remembers how the 2023 preseason went with Kenny Pickett.

In 2022, the Steelers drafted Pickett in the first round to be their next franchise QB, replacing Ben Roethlisberger. With Matt Canada calling the plays and a bottom of the barrel offensive line, Pickett and the offense had a horrible season. Pickett though seemed to have improved a lot in the next offseason as he got ready for the 2023 campaign. The Steelers made it very clear that they wanted to see changes in the performance of the offense. 

Pickett and the starting offense would go on to have a stellar, and just about perfect preseason. The first team scored points on almost every drive, which fooled fans into thinking they had solved all of their issues. Everyone quickly found out that their preseason performance was fraudulent, and their 2022 struggles only continued into 2023.. 

Pickett played his first preseason game for the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night as they traveled to face the Baltimore Ravens. Unsurprisingly, Pickett did relatively well, as he threw for 89 yards and a touchdown. After their victory, Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni applauded Pickett for his performance.

"We were moving the ball nicely when Kenny was in," Sirianni noted. "It was not his fault that there were a couple of penalties that stalled drives that weren't necessarily him." 

Pickett and the Eagles took down the Ravens in a wild ending, which resulted in a game-winning field goal to make it 16-13. 

The Steelers will travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in Week 15, which will be a crucial time of the year for both teams. If Eagles starting quarterback Jalen Hurts is a no-go for whatever reason, then it will be a reunion match between Pittsburgh and Pickett. There will be more behind the scenes footage that will go into this game as the Steelers and the rest of the AFC North begin their Hard Knocks divisional series streaming on Max in December. 

Steelers' Starting Offense With Justin Fields Didn't Score, But Looked Like They're On The Right Track

The Steelers took the loss Friday night to the Houston Texans, as CJ Stroud and Tank Dell connected in the first quarter for a touchdown to put them ahead. Though Fields fumbled two snaps under center, the running game and the play-calling from Arthur Smith looked pleasant. 

The Steelers made plenty of mistakes that shot themselves in the foot, so the execution was not there at all. Next to the two fumbled snaps, Quez Watkins brutally fumbled a punt which put Houston in position to score another seven points. Kyle Allen also closely missed a fourth and goal throw to Calvin Austin III in the back corner of the end zone which would have been a TD.

The play-calling at least looks a lot better with Smith as the offensive coordinator compared to Canada. Pittsburgh just needs to clean up some of their mistakes and they should be in a position to improve a lot offensively from the last few seasons. 

What do you make of Pickett's outing in Baltimore Friday night? Is it just more of what he showed in last year's preseason? What did you make out of Friday night's loss for the Steelers? How did Fields and the rest of the offense look? Let us know in the comments below.

#SteelerNation