Mitch Trubisky got a bit of a raw deal in preparation for the New England Patriots. As teams that play Thursday night games do, the Pittsburgh Steelers had to cram a week’s worth of work into three days — making a normally difficult quarterback transition even more challenging.
But on the other side of short weeks are long weeks, and Mike Tomlin has high expectations for the former first-round pick, given the mini-bye Pittsburgh has.
Barring a total disaster — perhaps a repeat of his Week 14 performance — the Steelers offense is expected to run through Trubisky until Kenny Pickett‘s anticipated return for the regular season finale versus the Ravens in Baltimore on Jan. 7.
“[It’s] a reasonable expectation for him to be even better because of that [Week 14] experience and because of the experience of having a full week’s prep this week in preparation for the performance in-helmet reps and full-speed reps,” Tomlin said in Monday’s press conference.
Tomlin acknowledged there’s work to be done on the offensive side of the ball but believes Trubisky “picked up his play as the game wore on” versus New England.
Trubisky completed 63 percent of his passes for 190 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
A switch to Mason Rudolph was never a consideration for Tomlin, and it doesn’t sound like it will be going forward, either.
Tomlin said it's "reasonable" to expect Mitch Trubisky to be better for the game at Indianapolis on Saturday.
— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) December 11, 2023
