Kenny Pickett capped off Saturday’s win over Las Vegas on a high note, and what he hopes to be a breakthrough moment for him as his first season in the NFL draws to a close.
The Steelers’ offense, which has struggled to produce points this season in general, was finally able to come through with a red zone touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 13-10 win.
For Pickett, the winning pass to fellow rookie George Pickens showed a step forward. Mike Tomlin called it a ‘grow-up’ moment for Pickett and the offense. But the first-year signal caller is trying to keep it in perspective.
“It’s a step in the right direction, but I'm not going to overdo it,” Pickett said Wednesday. “We did what we were supposed to do, we got there, we won the game in that situation. It’s a huge positive for us, but now we have to obviously turn the page and get ready for this week.”
As far as touchdowns go, the Steelers are actually better than some may think when it comes to red zone effectiveness. They’re currently 17th in the NFL with a 53.3% mark of touchdowns in the red zone. And Pittsburgh is 19th in the NFL with 1.6 red zone touchdowns per game.
But, as a whole, the team has stalled far too often, in key moments and in tight games, on the plus side of the field. And that’s something that Pickett knows he must improve on over the season’s final two weeks and into the offseason — that is, if the Steelers can’t find a near-miraculous way into the postseason first.
“I think just consistency and finishing drives is going to be the focus,” Pickett said. “We’ve got to finish in the red zone and be better there. So, like we've been preaching pretty much this back half of the season, that's the main emphasis that we’ve got to continue to try and become a lot better at.”
Pickett’s struggles in the red zone shouldn’t be surprising. It’s really the final frontier of quarterback development, being able to fit the ball in the tightest of windows against NFL caliber speed. It’s why, before the bye, Pickett turned the ball over so frequently.
“Yeah, I mean, the field changes, right,” he said. “Obviously, when you're at midfield, or you're in minus-50 territory, you have the whole field at your disposal. When you get down there, the field shrinks”
And it’s why, since the bye, with the more snaps he gets, and the more coverages he sees, those tight windows are looking a little larger. And why plays like the pass to Pickens have happened.
“You’ve got to continue to be balanced and do some different things,” Pickett added. “So that’s one thing that we're going to continue to work on.”