Steelers vs. Jets Takeaways: Kenny Pickett is a Winner

The Pittsburgh Steelers have their new quarterback.

SI Editorial | Oct 3, 2022

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Pittsburgh Steelers

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers walked away from their third-straight loss with plenty of emotion, and plenty of takeaways from those watching.

It wasn't the worst game this team has played all year, but it certainly wasn't the best. They'll walk away from Week 4 looking to regroup, but the questions now are can they, and with who at quarterback?

Noah Strackbein's Takeaways

Kenny Pickett is a Winner

The emotion on Kenny Pickett's face as he sat at the podium following his first regular season NFL game told the whole story. The Steelers lost, the team was upset and Pickett was more emotional than any of them.

The rookie could've walked up on stage and talked about how great it felt to get out there and begin his NFL journey. Instead, he said this:

"I just play with an edge. That's something that I wanted to bring to the table. I do not like to lose. This is not a good feeling. I don't want it to be a familiar feeling, so I definitely want to get back out there and get a victory, get us back on track."

When Mitch Trubisky lost it was a professional press conference. It was still professional with Pickett up there, but there was a clear emotional difference. The Steelers have a winner at quarterback.

Is the Defense Too Banged Up?

The Steelers offense did a number on the defense during the first four weeks of the season. This was the first time it felt like the offense did enough to keep the defense off the field with time to recover. But it might be too late.

At this point, the Steelers are without T.J. Watt and Ahkello Witherspoon. They left this game with injuries to Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Cam Sutton and Cam Heyward. And with more than 130 minutes logged in the first four weeks, you have to wonder how much damage has already been done.

Pittsburgh enters the most difficult part of their schedule and chances are the defense is going to have to do even more to win. That's a tall order for a group that seems to be depleting by the week.

You just hope they can start to truly recover if the offense is finally starting to click.

Mike Tomlin Can Lose the Fans With a QB Move

The fans might lose it on Mike Tomlin if he decides to put Mitch Trubisky back in as the starting quarterback. And if they lost to the Bills, which is likely, it could end anyone's expectations that this season isn't dead.

Tomlin doesn't care about outside opinions, but putting fans in the seats is important to an NFL franchise. If Trubisky is the quarterback, that won't happen. You saw it in Week 4.

You would never know the Steelers lost this game by the energy. Once Pickett entered, it didn't matter what the score was - the fans got a quarterback they actually believe in.

Tomlin can do what he sees best for the team, but if that means Trubisky is starting, don't expect many fans to be happy about it.

Stephen Thompson's Takeaways

There's No Turning Back From Kenny Pickett

Mike Tomlin maintained that the Steelers are keeping an open mind and will not hand the starting job to Kenny Pickett after just two quarters of play, but turning back to Mitch Trubisky after he couldn't survive a half against the New York Jets seems unlikely.

By subbing in Pickett, Tomlin has sped up the clock and put more pressure on his team to win now. He said he was looking for a spark and got it. Pickett scored twice and, even though he committed three poor turnovers, did enough to say that subbing him in was not a mistake. You know what you have in Trubisky and Pickett has untapped potential. There's no reason that Pickett shouldn't start next week and for the rest of the year.

Steelers Offense Coming Along Slowly

Even before the quarterback change, the Pittsburgh Steelers found some underutilized playmakers early and often in this game. Pat Freiermuth and George Pickens combined for 13 receptions and 187 yards while Najee Harris posted a season-high in yards on the ground.

This unit is far from perfect but the improvements that were promised are slowly materializing. The middle of the field is being utilized more often, chunk plays are coming more frequently and the young stars' production is starting to match their talent.

Pickett is lucky to be inheriting this group now as opposed to at the beginning of the year. Sure the offensive line had their fair share of struggles, but that is also a position group that has improved mightily since the beginning of the season. They are a better group than they were in Week 1 and should continue to take more steps forward as long as Pickett can protect the ball.

Steelers Hitting Most Difficult Portion of Schedule

Temper your expectations now, Steelers fans. The new life that Pickett breathed into the team and fanbase during his first regular season action against the Jets might take a while to bear fruit. He looked like an upgrade over Trubisky in limited action but, assuming he starts next week and as the season progresses, Pickett will be thrown into the fire.

The combined record of the four opponents standing in between the Steelers and their bye week is 12-3. Forget being eased in, Pickett will enter the deep end. Being a spark is one thing, especially if there's no film on you, but going toe-to-toe with MVP-contending players and championship-contending teams is quite another. Expect things to look worse before they can get any better.

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