The Kenny Pickett the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted — the swaggy, sublimely confident and ultra-competitive quarterback who practically willed the University of Pittsburgh to an ACC title two years ago — is not always the Kenny Pickett that takes the field.
Not yet anyway.
More than a full season into Pickett’s career as an NFL starter, he remains very much a work in progress. At least during the game’s first three quarters, when consistency, accuracy and rhythm seem elusive.
Things change over the final 15 minutes. The happy feet he sometimes displays in the pocket calm. The touch that can temporarily abandon him returns. And his quarterback rating — and the results — skyrocket.
“He’s awesome in the fourth quarter,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “Man, he rises up in those moments.”
The key for Pittsburgh (5-3) if it wants to stay in the middle of the hotly contested AFC North race is finding a way to have whatever magic Pickett summons in the final frame expand to the first three quarters. He’ll get another chance Sunday when Green Bay (3-5) visits Acrisure Stadium.
“It’s consistency,” Pickett said. “We’ve shown that we can do it, but we don’t do it consistently through those quarters where the lead could’ve been much greater heading into that fourth, where we didn’t have to win it in the fourth.”
Not that it has mattered. Four of Pittsburgh’s five victories this season have come in games it has trailed heading into the fourth. Yet the Steelers keep finding a way to survive when things get tight thanks to one of the most opportunistic defenses in the league and a quarterback who only truly looks like a franchise cornerstone when he absolutely has to.
It beats the alternative.
“As long as you find ways to win, that’s all that matters,” Pickett said.
The same goes for Green Bay first-year starter Jordan Love, who rebounded from five largely listless performances by throwing for 228 yards with a touchdown and no picks against the Rams last Sunday.
Like Pickett, Love oversees an offense that has trouble getting going. Unlike Pickett, however, Love has often been a factor in his team’s struggles. The win over Los Angeles was Love’s first game without an interception since Week 2. And now he faces a defense that is third in the NFL in takeaways (16).
“They do a good job of creating some chaos and getting those turnovers and that’s the key for us is to not let that happen in this game,” Love said.
