It is going to be the most talked about play all week in Pittsburgh as the Steelers try and put an embarrassing day in Houston behind them.
On 4th and 1 late in the third quarter, down by 10, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers decide to go for it. Pittsburgh had been slowly, and let me stress this again, SLOWLY, building something on offense. They had just scored back to back field goals and if they make this conversion, can add some more points on the board.
There’s been so much discourse around this play, and for good reason, but the debate has often boiled down to who was at fault for that play.
Was it the play calling of Matt Canada? Or the execution by Kenny Pickett?
The real answer, folks, is both.
Make no mistake, both men did not make good decisions, but was it more of Canada’s god awfulness, or Pickett’s bad on-field judgement?
The play call is absolutely awful. Running a play in shotgun formation on a 4th and 1 is flat out stupid, but given the further context, the call looks even worse.
Najee Harris, Pittsburgh’s first round pick from two years ago and a guy the Steelers have desperately needed to get going, had finally come alive in this game. A clearly angry Harris had found ways to break through tackles and stack solid runs, and was finally generating positive results for the Steelers.
So you would think, on a 4th and 1 when you should run the ball, that you can just hand it off to Harris, or even Jaylen Warren for that matter, and take the first down.
Running the ball is the way to go here.
But no.
Once again, Matt Canada wants to show the entire stadium just how smart he is, and draws up a shotgun play to try and pick up the first.
Predictably, just like everything else Matt Canada has ever done in the NFL, it doesn’t work, and costs the Steelers a great chance.
It seems like every time Canada dials up a “look how smart I am” play, it only reinforces how stupid he actually is.
But Kenny Pickett doesn’t do the Steelers any favors either.
One of the biggest criticisms of Pickett, especially this season, is his hesitance to stay in the pocket.
Far too often Pickett has bailed from clean or semi-clean pockets and began scrambling before said pocket collapses.
And not only does Pickett bail from pockets when he doesn’t need to, but he rolls into trouble, forcing him into either more trouble, or a sack.
On this play, Pickett does the latter.
As he twists and turns to his left, he runs almost directly into Houston’s Jonathan Greenard, who wraps him up and takes him down.
Pickett gets twisted awkwardly as he is tackled, injuring his knee in the process. At the time of this publishing (12:01am on Monday), we don’t yet know how serious Pickett’s knee injury is. He had to be helped off the field and did not return to the game after leaving.
This play, unfortunately, was a microcosm of many of the criticisms of Pickett’s play on the field, and it not only costed the Steelers a first down, but also potentially extensive time for himself on the field.
And the worst part? He had Harris open down the field.
If Pickett simply stands in the pocket for an extra second, he should have been able to find Harris and convert for a first down.
But because Pickett bails early, he doesn’t see Harris.
Rookie first rounder Broderick Jones was the man tasked with guarding Greenard on that play, and Jones is able to fend off Greenard long enough that Pickett should have been able to throw a pass.
Jones after the game made it clear after the game how upset he was that Greenard had beat him to get to Pickett, but, once Pickett bails and circles around, there’s nothing more Jones can do.
Was it a horrible play call? Yes, every call Matt Canada makes is horrible. But was it also terrible execution by Pickett? Yes as well. He had Harris. Harris was open. Pickett just needed to stand in the pocket and see it.
(Featured photo by Gene J Puskar/AP)
Fifth Avenue Sports 
Leave a comment