Pickett Learning the Hard Way
Photo Courtesy of: Associated Press
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a tough game to the Miami Dolphins 16-10 on Sunday Night Football.
Kenny Pickett threw three interceptions for the second time this season. He completed 33-44 pass attempts and one touchdown pass to George Pickens toward the end of the first half. The Dolphins dominated the first quarter, driving down the field on their opening possessions, scoring twice, and opening a 10-0 lead. Flipping the script, the Steelers dominated the second quarter possessing the ball for the majority of the team and outscored the Dolphins 10-6.
The story of the game was much the same. Early on the Dolphins’ offense and defense played excellent, whereas the Steelers didn’t. Then later the Steelers’ defense made adjustments and played well. The offense found rhythms at times but all of their second-half possessions ended in either a punt or interception.
The Steeler’s defense had a season-record four interceptions dropped throughout the game. One of them was right in the hands of Cam Sutton. They finally were able to figure out the Dolphins’ offense wants they realized how Tua Tagovailoa was capable of after returning from injury.
Some of the same issues made reappearances in the secondary. Gapping holes allowed receivers to be wide-open and gain huge chunks of turf after the catch. The running gain improved as the game went on but the Steelers still gave up 111-yards which is the second-fewest they’ve given up this season.
The passing game got better as well, but most of the damage was done in the first half. Tagovailoa finished the night 21-35 with 261-yards and 1 touchdown and was not sacked once.
Kenny Pickett has had to navigate his rookie season with no mentorship from a legitimate veteran. He’s learning on the fly which is a good thing and recipe for disaster at the same time. He threw two late and costly interceptions in the fourth quarter. Both passes were forced and intended for Dionate Johnson. Pickett almost had his career game-winning drive before he was picked on the last play of the game by Noah Igbinoghene.
There is no doubt that Pickett has had to learn things the hard way. Which will only make him a better player. But on the other hand, it probably would’ve been beneficial for him to sit for a year behind a quarterback that has been in some big moments before. The Steelers failed to bring in a quarterback with a winning resume. And the Mitch Trubisky experiment has failed. Now Pickett is learning game by game.
The job doesn’t get any easier as the Steelers head across the state to take on the undefeated Eagles out in Philadelphia next week. The good news for them this should be the last game without T.J. Watt and they get a bye week right after. The bad news is that they have to play Philly in Philly whose sports teams just don’t seem to understand the definition of “lose”.
