Through about 56 minutes of football on a frigid Christmas Eve at Acrisure Stadium, the Steelers’ offense and rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett were having one of their more disappointing performances of the season.
But, when the Steelers needed it most, Pickett came through.
“He got it done,” center Mason Cole said.
He sure did. Pickett went 7 of 9 on the game-winning drive, racking up 75 passing yards and executing a quarterback sneak on 4th and 1 to keep Pittsburgh’s hopes alive.
He capped the drive by pulling off something that’s been tough for Pickett — and the entire offense — all season: a red zone touchdown. He did it with a strike on a post route to fellow rookie George Pickens.
“The backside safety was hanging over to Pat [Freiermuth]'s side,” Pickett explained. “I just wanted to hold him long enough with my eyes to make the throw to George down the seam. It worked out really well.”
Pickett’s progression perhaps hasn’t gone as quickly as most would’ve liked. There’s many in the fanbase, and the media, who assumed that the 24-year-old would step in and become a dynamic playmaker right off the hop.
That hasn’t happened. But It is continuing to come along, even if it is slight.
“I thought it was a grow-up night,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said after the game.
It’s not Pickett’s first time doing this. It’s already the rookie’s third game-winning drive. And a common theme has emerged in each situation. Pickett’s teammates say that he, at all moments, is the same person.
“The one thing that stands out for Kenny is just how calm and level-headed he is,” Cole said. “He’s never too high, never too low.”
Pickens backed that up, saying that Pickett simply walked into the huddle and called the plays. There was no dramatic, movie-type speech — even on a night full of emotion following the death of Franco Harris earlier in the week.
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“There is no rah-rah speech that's going to put the ball in the end zone,” Pickett said. “It's very simple: Everyone has to lock in, do their job. I am going to call the plays. We are going to get it relayed in. I told them they're going to execute. I'll execute and we're going to win the game. That's pretty much it.”
While players are still learning who Pickett is and how he handles himself when pressure is on, his coach is well aware.
“I don't think any of us are surprised with those intangible things,” Tomlin said of Pickett’s leadership. “I’m so happy that our young guys had an opportunity to do that in some small way tonight.”
Pickett’s been thrown into an odd and challenging situation this season, with very little of it being his doing.
Mitch Trubisky was anointed the starter in the spring. Steelers players bought into Trubisky and his leadership, voting him a team captain. Pickett got almost no first team reps until he was named the team’s starter in weeks into the season.
And while Pickett injected some life into the offense early, the rookie struggles were evident early.
But on nights like Saturday, nights that end in lower room celebrations following a rugged game in lackluster weather conditions, that belief is growing within the team, for sure.
Was Pickett perfect? No. Was he even good? Not really. But he did, according to him, ‘all that matters.’ He won the game, and kept the Steelers season alive.
And that’s what will keep getting guys to buy what Pickett is selling.
“I don't really think too much about winning guys over,” Pickett said. “I think my preparation throughout the week, how hard I play, I hope their opinions are on the brighter side based off that.”
How can’t they be?