Dan Orlovsky Detailed Steelers' Kenny Pickett's "Best Play As A Pro"

The Pittsburgh Steelers looked the best they have in the entire month of September on Sunday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders. It wasn't too pretty the entire way through, but the offense came up with some big plays and the defense intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo three different times. Pittsburgh jumped out to an advantageous 23-7 lead and was able to hold on late in the game when Las Vegas was threatening to make a comeback. The most promising play of the evening came from second-year quarterback, Kenny Pickett, who threw for two touchdowns in a game for the first time in his young career.

Pickett completed 16 of 28 passes and threw for 235 yards along with the two scores. Those numbers are not going to jump out at anybody, but certainly are more encouraging than his first two starts of 2023. The offense didn't look perfect, but it was a step in the right direction and there are two games remaining before an early bye week to gain some more momentum.

The signal-caller for the Steelers wasn't the only player who stood out offensively. George Pickens led the way with four catches and 75 yards. but Calvin Austin III had his "welcome to the NFL" moment when he broke free and received a perfect pass from Pickett on a 72-yard score. The touchdown helped Pittsburgh tie the game early at a score of 7-7.

Austin III had his entire rookie season taken from him after a foot injury in training camp required surgery. He was placed on Injured Reserve and the fans were not able to catch a glimpse of his breakaway speed at the professional level. He could turn into a secret weapon for the offense if used properly, and stepped up big in Diontae Johnson's absence.

Steelers May Have Gotten A True Glimpse Of What They Have In Pickett On Specific Play

One of the best quarterback gurus in the media is former player and now ESPN analyst, Dan Orlovsky. He is one of the more detailed individuals to listen to and his breakdowns are extremely informative. He joined The Pat McAfee Show on Monday to talk about Sunday's NFL slate and went into detail of why the pass from Pickett to Austin III worked so well. He was extremely high on Pickett's poise during the play.

"Nine out of 10 times... you're not throwing that football. It's middle field close, there's a safety in the middle of the field, man coverage. The ball gets snapped and he sees that safety that's favoring Pickens on the left side and what he does is, 'Okay safety, if you're going to start there,' Kenny does a really nice job of moving in the pocket, it's a great route, moving in the pocket and while he moves in the pocket, he's just saying, 'I'm not trying to take you anywhere safety, I'm just trying to keep you there.'"

Orlovsky explained how the play developed perfectly and was very complimentary of how Pickett handled the entire situation while remaining in the pocket. He continued and gave another huge shoutout to the quarterback.

"Kenny goes shuffle shuffle, holds his eyes on that safety and then it's an absolutely perfect throw. You could make the case that this is Kenny's best play as a pro."

While he's only in year two, nothing is better to hear than a top analyst of the game arguing that this was Pickett's best play of his young career. The play developed perfectly and everything went exactly the way it was supposed to. The last thing needed was an ideal pass and Pickett ended up leading Austin III wonderfully for the big score.

There is still a lot of work left to be done when it comes to the Steelers offense. Sunday night was a step in the right direction and the unit needs to take advantage of the multitude of weapons that are playing alongside Pickett. When Johnson returns from a hamstring injury, they could develop into one of the more underrated units in the league if they continue to build off of some success that came against the Raiders.

Do you think Pickett's touchdown pass to Austin III was the best of his Steelers career? Let us know in the comments below!

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