Kenny Pickett has yet to be incredibly impressive on Sundays. But what he's doing behind closed doors Monday through Saturday seems to be exciting the Steelers.
Coming off Sunday's 20-10 win over the Saints, Pickett is hoping to carry what was a balanced offensive attack back to Acrisure Stadium this Sunday, when the Steelers welcome rival Cincinnati. To do so, he will need to continue to progress through each practice.
"It's (Pickett's) decision making and you see it at practice," wide receiver Diontae Johnson said Wednesday. "You practice how you play. His preparation throughout the week is continuously showing up on film."
It's understandable that Pickett got off to a slow start, with two touchdowns and eight interceptions. He had almost no preseason reps with the first team, so developing chemistry and timing with the likes of Johnson is a process that is taking some time.
"It's going to continue to get better," Pickett said. "I'm nowhere near where I want to be or where I need to be. It's a day at a time. There's things we like that I've done that I can continue to improve on, and there's things I need to get a lot better at. So it's really knowing what those are, finding that out and then going and attacking that."
What's really gong to help Pickett is if the Steelers can continue to run the ball even close to what they did against the Saints, when the team racked up its first 200-yard rushing game in nearly six years.
"We want to be a balanced offense, and I think with how our system is, and the way things bounce off each other, it's great to have that balance," Pickett said. "When you're one dimensional, it's a lot easer to stop."
Pickett was part of that, using his legs to the tune of 51 yards against New Orleans. But Pittsburgh stalled out in the Saints' end of the field, particularly the red zone, a couple times too many. That appears to be a point of emphasis this week.
"We're not where we need to be," Pickett admitted. "There's less grass, it's tighter windows, timing. Everything is faster. I have to meet the guys at certain spots with the ball, and they have to get there on time."
On top of the red zone issues, Pickett has appeared to hold onto the ball too long on occasion. He took six sacks Sunday, and he says he saw at least a couple that were on him.
"We want to take more shots," he said. "So I have to hold the ball a little bit longer and let guys get down the field. But it's also knowing when to get it out of my hands."
Sunday will mark Pickett's first appearance against an AFC North team. He backed up Mitch Trubisky when the Steelers pulled off a surprising 23-20 overtime win over Cincinnati in Week 1. Now, he gets his shot.
And he enters the game appearing to have earned the trust of his teammates, and their backing thanks, in large part, to what he's doing when fans aren't watching.
"We've just got to continue to be there for him, be around him, and continue to make him look good," Johnson said. "Whether it's a good throw or bad throw."
