Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman addressed the Kenny Pickett conundrum at the opening of Monday night's broadcast, and he was never more accurate.
"These are uncharted waters for Mike Tomlin," Aikman said. "And I think if they can get through this season, regardless of what the record is, and they can say Kenny Pickett is their starter and their franchise quarterback, then I believe it will have been a successful season — but the jury is still out on him.
"There are times he looks like the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be. There are other times when he looks like a really young quarterback who has a long ways to go."
Three hours later, I think we could safely say that for the first time in his brief career, Pickett looked mostly like the former (franchise quarterback) and almost never like the latter (long ways to go). His numbers from the Steelers' 24-17 victory were not mind-blowing — although they could have been — and he was facing a defense that was surrendering the second-highest home passer rating in the NFL, but make no mistake: This was a large step forward.
That doesn't mean it's time for any grand Pickett proclamations. It's simply a case of leaving a game thinking, "You know what? Pickett really could be the guy." And that's a pretty big deal.
His numbers, by the way, should have looked much better. The way I saw it, Pickett threw two uncatchable balls all night — one was high and out of bounds (possibly a throwaway) to Diontae Johnson on the Steelers' third possession, another too low for Johnson on the first possession of the second half.
If not for several drops, a questionable call and a Pat Freiermuth miscalculation at the goal line, Pickett easily might have left the building with a gaudy stat line reading something like 26 of 28 for 210 yards, two touchdowns and a passer rating above 100. (It would also help if Johnson — "Wrong Way Diontae"— stops running backward.)
Instead, Pickett finished 20 of 28 for 174 yards, zero touchdowns, zero interceptions (he has gone 100 straight passes without one) and a season-best passer rating of 87.5. He also ran for 32 yards.
Most importantly, he delivered at money time, leading the Steelers on what proved to be a game-winning, 11-play, 75-yard drive early in the fourth quarter. He unleashed two third-down laser beams (to Pickens and Freiermuth, respectively) on the drive and even lobbied the coaching staff for a run to Benny Snell Jr. at the goal line.
That's what you want. There were many games from Ben Roethlisberger's career where the first three quarters didn't look pretty but didn't ultimately matter because Roethlisberger came through late and found a way to win. Pickett isn't going to blow anyone away with his arm strength. If he succeeds, his game will be based on deadly accuracy, timely runs, toughness and quick processing.
He showed all of that on the winning drive. After weeks where he was great for one half and far from it in the other (New Orleans, Cincinnati), he pitched a complete game, despite some three-and-outs in the third quarter.
Now let's look at the plays that could have made for a historically accurate night. According to Pro Football Reference, the two most accurate games in team history were when Roethlisberger went 13 of 14 in a blowout of the Texans in 2008 and Mike Tomczak went 15 of 17 in relief of Kordell Stewart against the Oilers in 1998.
Again, Pickett only threw two uncatchable passes. He completed 71% of his throws (mostly short) but might have completed 90% if not for ...
—Johnson dropping a touchdown pass.
—Pickens dropping at least one pass.
—Pickens not coming down with what would have been a great touchdown catch. That was not an accurate throw from Pickett, but any receiver will tell you that if they get a full hand on the ball (two hands might have been advisable here), they should catch it.
—Pickens either dropping a ball along the sidelines in the third quarter or being the victim of a bad call (I thought he actually caught it).
—Steven Sims dropping a third-down pass on the first drive of the night. The broadcast's opinion (I forget which guy) was that the ball "got away" from Pickett. If by that they meant it hit Sims in the hands, I would agree.
—Freiermuth failing to come back for a ball at the goal line, leading to deflection by a Colts defender. "Freiermuth, that's on him," Aikman said.
You get the point. Pickett was really good. Pickens also helped him with a few glorious catches. And the best play of the night was the two-point conversion. That was vintage Pickett from his Pitt days — scanning the field from left to right, bolting the pocket and firing a bull's eye in the back corner of the end zone. There was a joy factor to the play. Maybe a healthy arrogance, as well — and that is Pickett at his best.
The two displayed excellent chemistry on the play. Pickett figured Pickens would jab a foot in the ground and go back toward the sideline. He figured right.
On this particular night, it sure looked the Steelers figured right, too, when they drafted Pickett 20th overall. We're still in the early chapters here.
This was a pleasant plot turn.
