Week 4 for the Pittsburgh Steelers was a bit of a mixed-emotional bag. Although they gave up a 10-point lead in the final quarter to ultimately lose the game, rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett made his professional debut in the second half and did not disappoint. In what was determined as a needed “spark” on offense, Pickett rose to the challenge and tallied a pair of rushing touchdowns with 120 passing yards in the two quarters he played. However, there were three interceptions amongst those numbers; one of which leading to the New York Jets’ game-winning touchdown.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett (#8) loads back to make a pass against the New York Jets. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
The Steelers' Kenny Pickett is ready to face a stout Defense as Ben Roethlisberger did in his first career start 18 years ago.
Now that the debut is behind us, Pickett and the Steelers turn their attention to one of the toughest games they have this season; on the road against the AFC juggernaut, Buffalo Bills. Needless to say, Pickett will have his hands full this week in managing his emotion, while encountering the crazed Bills fans infamously known as ‘Bills Mafia.’
But with that said, there is some irony with this week’s matchup. According to the NFL Media Research Department, Pickett will be facing the current first-ranked pass defense in his first start. The last rookie quarterback to defeat the top-ranked pass defense in his first start was none other than Roethlisberger in 2004, that coming against the Miami Dolphins in a wet, sloppy game.
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger (#7) lines up under center in his first NFL start against the Miami Dolphins on September 26, 2004. | Credit: Steelers.com
In that contest, Roethlisberger passed for 163-yards on a mere 12 completions with a touchdown and an interception. The game was played in the tail-end of Hurricane Jeanne in pouring rain, high winds, and in the midst of power outages and flooding throughout the area. The winning effort entailed the defense tallying four turnovers and running back Duce Staley notching 101 yards on the ground on 22 carries.
Roethlisberger was not asked to shoulder the bulk of the production in his first start, which makes perfect sense. However, Pickett may not be as fortunate. If we fast forward to this week, a run-heavy offensive attack mixed with an aggressive defense may be asking a bit too much in Orchard Park, New York on Sunday afternoon.
Steelers' Kenny Pickett leads the huddle in the second half against the New York Jets. | Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
With such a large task looming ahead of him, Pickett needs to do something he hasn’t done in several years. That being to not feel pressured to make every play. At the University of Pittsburgh, Pickett was known for his ‘gamer’ play style, not giving up on a play, and making sure to get every yard needed to move the sticks. Although that worked fantastically in college, going up against a defense that only allows an average of 150 passing yards and less than 84 rushing yards per game, Pickett is getting thrown into a fire he's never seen before.
As a rookie, this could either bode well or spell disaster. There is a lot to be said for some ignorance towards how good NFL defenses really are as a young quarterback in his first start. On one hand, it avoids overthinking and getting anxious in the pocket on each pass rush. But on the other hand, there is a fine line between being ignorant or naïve, and careless or unnecessarily aggressive with the ball. Heading into his first start, Pickett’s game seems to be right in that balance:
"I want to raise the level of play of everyone around me, but we have so many great players," he said. "I've got to do my job. I have 100 percent trust and confidence that every guy in that huddle will do their job. I was just raised that way. Everyone has to just own their business and own their job, and we'll be alright."
As we’ve seen earlier this week, the births of Roethlisberger's and Pickett's careers have been eerily similar in makeup. Both rookies entered the game as a backup to a veteran. As Pickett’s first career pass was an interception after a Chase Claypool miss, it was Roethlisberger’s second career pass that was an interception at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens’ Adalius Thomas. Pickett finished his first game with three interceptions; Roethlisberger finished with two. Both quarterbacks got the ball into the endzone twice in losing efforts. Even though it was only two quarters with glimmers of inexperience on display, Pickett knows he has a lot to build on and a long road ahead:
"I was happy with the decisions I made," he said. "Obviously, you strive to be perfect, but there are always going to be things you take away. I feel like I took away the right things and I'm going to be good going into this week."
The Steelers are slated to take on the Bills on Sunday at 1:00 pm in another must-win game.
What do you think Pickett did right in his first live action? Do you think they’ll cover the 14-point spread? Let us know in the comments below!
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