PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It appeared Kenny Pickett was going to return to the game. The initial word from the team was he expected to return, but obviously unable as the Steelers lost to Jacksonville 20-10.
Pickett was injured with 17 seconds left in the second quarter as he was hit by Jaguars defensive lineman Adam Gotsis. He would leave the game as Mitch Trubisky would throw one pass before the field goal attempt. Pickett came out and warmed up at the end of halftime, but then left the field before the Steelers first drive.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that just because he was warming up, doesn't mean they were going to have him come back in the game. Trubisky said they were still working it out during halftime and he was preparing to go in, but wasn't sure if Pickett could go or not.
After a couple of punts, Trubisky took the team 75 yards for the only touchdown in the third quarter completing passes of 4,11,8,12,11 and then the touchdown of 22 yards to George Pickens, his only catch of the day. Trubisky said while it was a good drive, they got to put more of them together.
Then Trubisky explained the play that led to the game-clinching field goal, an interception in the fourth quarter.
"Forced a throw on my part, trying to make a play downfield," Trubisky said of the pass picked off by Andrew Wingard at the Jacksonville 41-yard line. "They were playing a lot of Cover 2 in the second half. We needed to push the ball downfield a little bit."
"It was a force, good play by them. That's on me. I've got to be better. Take what they give me, especially with us only being down seven at that point. I should have probably should have checked it down and moved on from there."
Trubisky said he's got to be smarter, but he was trying to force a pass to Allen Robinson to spark the team. He said they can't just run the ball or check it down to a short pass every time. He took a chance to make a play and said that's where he got in trouble.
It's unknown if he will play on Thursday, the severity of Pickett's injury may not be revealed until 90 minutes before the game.
"Just got to prepare on a short week," Trubisky said. "That's the job. We play on a Thursday. Sometimes it's a positive thing because we get to flush the game quickly and get the taste out of our mouth and get back to the game on Thursday. We've got to flush it. Everybody's got to prepare and get ready to go on Thursday night."
Trubisky's last start was December 18 of last year at Carolina. The 29-year-old was 17-22 for 179 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in a 24-16 win. Tennessee will likely start Will Levis, the rookie and former Penn State QB, threw four touchdowns passes in his first NFL start Sunday in a 28-23 win over Atlanta. Only Hall of Famer Frank Tarkenton and Marcus Mariota threw four touchdowns in their NFL debuts.
Slow starts
Potentially a different perspective, why does Trubisky think the team continues to get off to slow starts?
"Execution," Trubisky said. "We've just got to be better at executing our plays, getting everybody on the same page, and staying balanced as an offense."
No George
After back-to-back 100-yard games, receiver George Pickens had one catch, the 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
"They were playing Cover 2 to the side, clouding him, taking away the downfield stuff," Trubisky said. "We've got to figure out ways to continue to get him the ball. We know that. We've got to find ways to get him the ball in this offense but also staying balanced and leaning on the run game and guys up front."
