We may not fully know who the real Kenny Pickett is, but we certainly do know one thing: the kid is clutch.
I’ll own it, after last week, I thought Pickett shouldn’t play. My justification was that with his knee injury and his mishaps on the field, two weeks of rest and reset (the Steelers have their bye next week) would help Pickett recalibrate and come back better.
In a sense, I was wrong.
Was Pickett great for the whole game? Absolutely not. He still bailed from some pockets too early. He still missed throws to receivers. He still did some things that make you question what he saw or thought he saw.
But when the Steelers needed him most, Pickett stepped up and delivered.
On the defining drive of the game for Pittsburgh, Pickett made three great passes to move the Steelers down the field and into the endzone for the score.
Granted, this drive didn’t start great; after a 1 yard Najee Harris run, Pickett’s pass to Connor Heyward is incomplete, with former Steeler Arthur Maulet in the area.
But on a 3rd and 9 try, Pickett steps up *in the pocket* and delivers a strike to Allen Robinson, just good enough for the first down.
That throw is going to get overlooked based on what happened afterwards, but I really wanna zero in on this throw.
What have been some of Pickett’s biggest criticisms? He bails from pockets, and can’t stand in there and deliver a strike.
That was a problem again on Sunday, but when it mattered most, Kenny found it in himself to hang in there and deliver a perfect throw to Robinson.
It kept the Steelers offense on the field, and allowed Pickett to deliver another clutch third down pass to George Pickens.
This is a beautiful ball, and Pickett plays to Pickens’ strengths, throwing the ball where only his receiver could get up and make a play to keep the Steelers in it.
That’s two big-time third downs converted on this drive, and given the momentum he and the offense was finally feeling, he probably could have made another one.
Luckily, however, he didn’t have to. Pickett drops a dime to who else but George Pickens, who catches it and runs into the endzone.
The stadium erupts after watching an anemic offense finally do something that afternoon.
It was by far Pickett’s finest moment of the day, and a movie we’ve seen before.
By completing Sunday’s game against Baltimore, Kenny now has 17 NFL games, the length of a modern day season, under his belt.
In that time frame, Pickett has 5 game-winning drives and 4 fourth-quarter comebacks over his young career.
Think about that for a second. Pickett has completed a fourth quarter come back in 23.5% of his games, and a game-winning drive in 29.4% of his games.
Small sample size, I know, but that also serves to Pickett’s benefit. He’s done all this that many times in just 17 total games. That’s over two different seasons, two two different rosters, and a coaching staff that has hampered him over and over.
Not to mention, Pickett now has two fourth quarter comebacks and game-winning drives against the divisional rival Ravens.
It is quite an indictment of Matt Canada and the offensive game plans for Pittsburgh that Kenny has that many comebacks and game winners this early on, one of the many, many signs that the Steelers need a chance at OC.
But it’s a sign that Pickett could be much better in a competent game plan. Pickett keeps showing those moments. The flash in the plan moments that make you wonder just exactly how good he is.
The fans see it. The media sees it. And undoubtedly, the organization sees it too, and you have to wonder why the Steelers continue to not do everything in their power to set Pickett up for success.
There’s plenty to criticize Pickett for so far, but I will always stand by the statement that the Steelers will never fully be able to know what they have in Kenny Pickett as long as Matt Canada is employed. Canada’s offense handcuffs Pickett at every turn, and that’s why Kenny is forced into situations where he has to ball out late in games for the Steelers to win.
He has that clutch ability. Get him a real OC and see what else he has.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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