Life is just a little bit better when the Pittsburgh Steelers win, am I right, Steeler Nation? Especially the way they did in Monday night's 24-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Our defense held its own, once again winning the turnover battle, creating a crucial fumble in their own territory as well as an early interception by James Pierre. Our offense countered that with one of their best performances of the season scoring 24 points, making this now three straight weeks of scoring 20 points or more.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback James Pierre (42) celebrates with his teammates after an early interception in the Steelers 24-17 win vs the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night. | Karl Roser / Steelers.com
In those past three games, rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett has thrown for 638 yards on 63 completions and one solo touchdown pass to fellow rookie, George Pickens. Most importantly, the Steelers first round selection has yet to turn the ball over in those three games as well, compared to his eight total interceptions thrown in his first five NFL games. He is continuing to mature each game, and it is not just an opinion, his progress is showing on the field.
His decision making is something we questioned in his first five games as a starter, he seemed to be trying to force the ball into situations where he shouldn't, trying to be more the “hero” in some situations. This is where most of his early turnovers came from. It seems now, Pickett is learning from his mistakes, which is exactly what you want to see from your 24 year old rookie quarterback. Something he described to ESPN's Lisa Salters as having "command of the offense."
The one thing Pickett and this offense needs to work on, is being more consistent. I feel like we say it time and time again, but consistency is key. We are finally starting to see our rushing attack get going, which is going to help open up the passing attack, hopefully getting our play-makers the football. The Steelers did a good job of controlling the game as a whole in the first half of last night's contest, but failed to come out with the same sort of intensity in the second half, being out scored 14-8. This is something Pickett believes can only be blamed on the lack of execution on the players' part.
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (8) takes control of the offensive huddle in a 24-17 win at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Indianapolis Colts. | Karl Roser / Steelers.com
“Just get that first, first down, and we feel like we moved the ball really well. We had those, I think it was two three and outs, slow start just based off of execution alone. Nothing schematically, nothing X’s and O’s wise, just flat out us executing. I gotta make throws, we gotta make plays and we would have been on the move just like we did in that first half. That’s something we need to clean up.”
The most important thing here is that we actually see the progress of our young quarterback, it's not just talk. Like I said before, Pickett has been held without a turnover in his past three games, which he failed to do during the first five games of his career. He is being helped out by Najee Harris and our rushing attack that has found the end-zone three times in the past three games as well. If this offense can continue to show strides of becoming a successful balanced offense, I think it’s almost time to say that the Steelers may have found their guy under center for years to come.
Do you think Kenny Pickett has shown good "command of the offense" so far this season? Comment below!
