Steelers QB Kenny Pickett makes resounding statement in win vs. Ravens
With 4:16 to go in the fourth quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a chance at pulling off a game-winning drive to keep their playoff hopes alive heading into Week 18 of the 2022 regular season. At that point of the game, the Steelers had scored only nine points all game long. Earning 80 yards and […]
With 4:16 to go in the fourth quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a chance at pulling off a game-winning drive to keep their playoff hopes alive heading into Week 18 of the 2022 regular season.
At that point of the game, the Steelers had scored only nine points all game long. Earning 80 yards and closing the drive off with a touchdown looked like a daunting task.
But Kenny Pickett's offense delivered big time. Just one week after putting together a fantastic 9-of-7 comeback drive versus the Las Vegas Raiders, Pickett went 5-of-6 in the final drive (excluding the kneel-down series at the end) of the game against the Ravens.
"I can't say enough about our young QB [Kenny Pickett]," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters postgame. "He smiled in the face of it. He’s always ready to be that guy in the moments that we need him."
These were not easy throws, either.
In the final drive, Pickett completed big-time throws over the middle in consecutive plays. One was a tight window completion to tight end Pat Freiermuth for 20 yards. Immediately afterward, it was a 28-yard pass between the safeties to wide receiver Steven Sims.
In football, it's easy to get caught up in the moment and make too much out of the "eye test." But after those two passes, it's hard not to buy into the Kenny Pickett hype. He stepped up in the biggest of moments (again) and showed off why he was drafted in the first round.
The Steelers seemed to have found a quarterback. But that's not all.
Najee Harris – who had a fantastic game with 111 yards rushing – came up big in crunch time. In one of Pickett's two quarterback sneaks, Harris was responsible for getting Pittsburgh a first down as he pushed the rookie forward to move the chains.
A few plays later, the two connected on one of the best plays of the season.
Pickett was flushed out of the pocket to his left while Harris ran a wheel route into the endzone. While on the run (at 13 miles per hour, per Next Gen Stats), the ball came out of the Steelers quarterback's hands like an absolute laser. Harris came down with it like an experienced wideout.
“It’s a motion-out play," Najee Harris told reporters after the win. "Obviously, if the guy comes to me or not, I have to motion out. But then it turned into the scramble rule and I just scramble, like in practice, and I was open and Kenny threw a good ball, and I was able to catch it and score.”
Steelers fans have plenty to be excited about. Playoff hopes are alive. Mike Tomlin's winning season streak is alive.
But truth be told, even if Week 18 doesn't play out as the team needs it to, Pickett is the biggest reason to be excited about this team.
The kid can play.
Featured image via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
