The Pittsburgh Steelers did what they seem to do best in 2023 on Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans. The team parlayed their heavy pass rush and another magical fourth quarter from Kenny Pickett into a 20-16 victory to keep them in the playoff mix in a muddled AFC. Looking for a change offensively, Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada was moved from the booth to the sideline, and while some good did come out of it, like getting the running game going, a former NFL quarterback still has his doubts.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Steelers Kenny Pickett evades Tennessee Titans defenders in a 20-16 victory.
JT Sullivan spent close to a decade as a backup quarterback in the NFL. He played nine games during his tenure in the league with the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals. After his retirement, he started sharing his insights on the game through his YouTube channel, The QB School. While breaking down Pittsburgh's win, he pointed to several plays that made him question Pittsburgh's passing offense.
During the Steelers opening drive of the contest, the team faced a third down on their own 25-yard-line and needed six yards to get the first down. Pickett was able to connect with veteran receiver, Allen Robinson for a 10-yard gain to keep the drive moving. Despite the play's success, Sullivan said it helped illustrate a poor understanding of passing offense.
He explained that when a receiver is supposed to run a drive route against zone coverage as Robinson did, you don't look at the quarterback, and you want to settle up before you reach the next defender. He said a quarterback in this situation can't lead the receiver because he'll get swallowed up by the cornerback or safety occupying that zone.
"You see the guy running and looking at the quarterback," he questioned. "This is the type of evidence you look for when you're like 'They're winning, but not getting a lot of yards. Why aren't they getting yards?' Well, you can't even do this type of stuff right. It’s visual evidence of the bad understanding of how to do passing offense."
Later on the same drive, Pickett was forced to throw the ball away on a failed run-pass option play that broke down and resulted in a penalty against rookie tackle Broderick Jones for being an illegal man downfield. Sullivan said during his breakdown that he liked the motion from running back Najee Harris in the backfield and from George Pickens, but the rest of the play was a disaster. The blocking scheme, he said, confused him. The whole play was just a mess.
Steelers' Pickett Goes From Head-Scratching Misses To Great NFL Throws
Sullivan was perplexed by Pickett during his analysis of his play against the Titans. He spent a good deal of time breaking down a bad miss by the 25-year-old when he targeted Diontae Johnson on a first and 15, where the pass flew over his head. Sullivan said that Johnson was "open in the NFL," and Pickett just completely failed to hit him, noting that the ball was so far from Johnson even after he jumped that he didn't put his hands up for it.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson makes a catch against former Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds during a Week 9 regular season game in Pittsburgh.
Despite missing on a wide-open throw, Pickett quickly went back to the former Pro Bowl receiver a few plays later when the team needed to move the sticks on a third and two. Johnson was running a deep out alone with former Steelers safety, Terrell Edmunds on him in coverage and Pickett put it on the money to set up the team with a first and goal.
Sullivan was confused that Pickett could miss that last play mentioned and then make what he called a "much harder throw" to Johnson for the first down. He was also a big fan of Pickett looking way beyond the sticks to find the open guy rather than playing it conservatively and trying to find a check down that could've still gotten the first.
%202023%20Camp%20Final%20with%20Logos/2L9A7782-544x306.jpg "Steelers Kenny Pickett")
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Kenny Pickett (#8) makes a throw during the team's 2023 Friday Night Lights training camp practice in Latrobe, PA.
Sullivan said that overall he thought the plan to get receivers open was the best he's seen so far this year, with mistakes by players costing the team some extra yards and points. Pickett had some tough misses but, in the end, made the plays needed to win.
Do you think Pickett can still clean up those missed throws? Do you think Canada called a batter game from the sidelines? Comment below!
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