Before he was officially announced as captain, he was already the leader of the offense and everything went through him. 'And I think he's done a great job of stepping up and doing that.

'There was a big void with leaving, like an offensive leader, and that's tough for a franchise to overcome,' wide receiver Gunner Olszewski said. The Steelers bought in as Pickett's poise under pressure and leadership helped them to two game-winning drives late in the season. After the bye, Pickett and his offense showed more cohesion. The offense sputtered as Pickett threw eight interceptions in five games. The team embraced Pickett from the moment he took over the starting job at halftime of the Week 4 game a year ago, but it wasn't a seamless transition. I think it was reflective of the team's view of him and his growth and development.' 'Him being the lone captain on offense is obviously, no disrespect to the leadership of others, but probably more a reflection of everyone's feel of his growth and development, not only as a player, but as a leader within this collective,' coach Mike Tomlin said. Roethlisberger didn't earn that title until his fifth year. Pickett, though, already surpassed Roethlisberger by one measure when he was selected as a team captain prior to the start of the regular season. Since Roethlisberger retired, the Steelers are 9-9 and the offense has scored 30 points or more only once. With Roethlisberger as their starter, the Steelers went 165-81-1 and won eight AFC North titles. It's not just that Roethlisberger spent nearly two decades as the team's starting quarterback or that he won two Super Bowls - the first in his second season - it's the command that he had and way he won. But no position, no player, is more scrutinized, more analyzed than the quarterback - especially the quarterback handpicked by the organization to succeed Ben Roethlisberger. That's the pressure that comes with playing for an organization with six Lombardi Trophies. To be fair, the bar for every player on every Steelers team is high. THERE'S A HIGH bar for second-year quarterbacks in Pittsburgh.

You know, have fun, go out there and play, cut it loose. You've got to put the work in to make it happen and go execute and play. I don't think you just kind of roll out there and hope it happens. 'I believe you've got to go get it,' Pickett said. You either have it or you don't.'īut if the first game is any indication, Pickett's second season will be less a 17-game coronation and more a weekly battle to reestablish the Steelers' offense as a force in a loaded AFC - including Monday night's game against the division rival Cleveland Browns (8:15 p.m. 'He really has a voice,' left tackle Dan Moore Jr. 20 pick in the 2022 draft pervades the locker room and the Steelers' front office. It was a lack of execution, a notoriously difficult opposing defense, a series of miscommunications.Ī perfect storm of circumstances produced an imperfect debut in Pickett's much-anticipated second season.Īfter finishing his rookie campaign 7-2 after the bye with one interception over his final eight games and a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the preseason, Pickett appeared to be on the precipice of a breakout season. Speaking swiftly and monotonously, Pickett diagnosed, as best he could, what went wrong. PITTSBURGH - With a black Pittsburgh Steelers hat jammed over the still-sweaty strands of hair tucked behind his ears, quarterback Kenny Pickett took a seat in front of the microphones and media members waiting for answers last Sunday afternoon.Īfter throwing two interceptions and recording a 27.5 QBR in a 30-7 drubbing by the San Francisco 49ers, Pickett didn't have many. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĬan Steelers QB Kenny Pickett navigate a crucial second year?

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