Flavell’s Five Thoughts: Grading Kenny Pickett Getting Old

The Pittsburgh Steelers found a groove but their biggest concern remains consistent.

The NFL’s scriptwriters did Pittsburgh Steelers fans no favors by placing them in heart-stopping games on a weekly basis. However, their weekly defensive dominance has been a fun phenomenon to watch.

Not once, but twice, the Steelers were able to stand up Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers offense near the red zone and prevent them from a late overtaking of the game. Steelers 23, Packers 19.

Now 6-3, the Steelers are taking care of business in the middle part of their schedule, setting them up to “unleash hell in December,” as head coach Mike Tomlin likes to say.

A handful of potentially crushing injuries have hit the Steelers in recent weeks and that list was added to this week. That and more in this week’s edition of “Flavell’s Five.”

Running Game Slowly Becoming Foundation of Offense

For the Steelers to have over 200 yards of rushing and still not reach 400 yards of offense is peak 2023 Steelers football. Jaylen Warren (15) and Najee Harris (16) split carries almost evenly in Week 11. Warren gained 101 yards, while Harris added 82 of his own. This, my friends, is the way.

Harris can be looked back upon as a bit of a flop solely because he was drafted higher than his position probably should’ve been. That doesn’t mean the Steelers had to continue to push Harris as the feature back. That is no longer the case, and it’s pretty evident.

More and more, NFL teams are shifting things to tandem backfields. With the exception of a handful of running backs, a lot of teams have two or even three guys they trust to carry the ball. The Steelers have two and since embracing a tandem role, they’ve had two highly efficient backs.

They complement each other well. Warren possesses more speed and runs incredibly hard despite a smaller stature. He’s also the better blocking back. Harris, a much bigger back, is great for short-yardage situations and can hit an inside hole if one is open for him to gain significant yards.

It’s great that Tomlin has finally adopted a world where both backs can rotate in and out to stay fresh while also no longer featuring a guy solely because of his draft pedigree. Good on Harris for embracing the new division of labor, too. Now, both guys are eating.

Weekly “Grading” of Pickett Getting Old

Having a weekly discourse nit-picking every single throw and play that Kenny Pickett makes is getting a bit old. The things he’s doing, both well and not well, have become a pattern, and we’re seeing the true ability of what he is.

He lacks the accuracy that everyone thought would be his calling card. His decision-making, at times, will be questionable. Pickett does, however, have the ability to win games late, as evidenced by his fourth quarter comebacks and statistics.

Pickett doesn’t play in an offense that’s going to generate eye-popping statistics. He doesn’t have the arm to sling the ball 50 times and throw for 300 yards every game. It just is who he is. Sure, there’s room for growth, but he’s also now 25 years old. Time isn’t going to tick on forever, allowing him the chance to “prove himself.”

All that matters right now is that the Steelers are 6-3 with sub-par quarterback play. Are they a true contender? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that it’s time to stop worrying about the lack of big statistical games from Pickett and worry about how many wins he helps them get. They don’t ask how; they ask how many.

Injuries Starting to Hit Hard

The injury to Minkah Fitzpatrick is bad enough. The Steelers’ secondary is certainly suffering after he missed his second straight full game, despite getting hurt early in the Jaguars game in Week 9. A guy like Elijah Riley is playing more than the Steelers would probably prefer, and the top was taken off the defense a few too many times in Week 11.

Cole Holcomb tore his ACL last weekend, depleting the middle linebacker depth that was a luxury just seven days ago. Now, Kwon Alexander’s Achilles is torn, and the Steelers suddenly are down to Elandon Roberts and Mark Robinson at ILB. That position is no longer a luxury.

Keanu Neal went down with an injury on his interception. Diontae Johnson supposedly injured his thumb at some point. The Steelers are beginning to be nickel-and-dimed on their roster depth. They can’t afford to keep losing guys.

The bend-don’t-break mentality for the defense works for the most part. They seem to tighten up in the red zone and force turnovers and whatnot. But to lose two starting safeties, two starting middle linebackers, and Cam Heyward for the time that they did will eventually catch up to you. On the bright side, Heyward is back and playing well.

Credit to Pat Peterson

Pat Pete has taken some heat in the first half of the season. He’s been labeled old and slow on many occasions. Being 33 years old in a position where age means a lot, Peterson hasn’t looked like the potential Hall-of-Famer that he did in his prime. Against the Packers, however, P2 turned back the clock just a bit.

Peterson’s extra-point block changed the complexion of the game in terms of scoring the rest of the way. With a 17-13 lead, the block forced the Packers to need a touchdown at all points to be able to overtake the lead. That turned out to be a turning point of the game.

Peterson then made a pass breakup on the penultimate Packers drive that resulted in Neal’s interception. He tipped the ball away from the receiver and into the air for Neal to simply camp under and take back out of the end zone.

For Peterson, this game could represent a boost to his confidence for the remainder of this season. He’s only signed for this year and the NFL as a whole isn’t kind to signing over 30s cornerbacks to contracts, so he’ll need to show some more over the rest of the season to find an employer again next season. Good on him for making some truly game-defining plays against the Packers.

Now, the Real Tests Begin

No NFL game is a cakewalk. All NFL teams are full of players who are amongst the best in the world at their positions.

The Steelers faced three beatable teams at home in the past three games and went 2-1. There’s nothing wrong with that. Now, as the AFC North continues to power on, the Steelers are staring down two straight in-division games.

The Steelers’ next two games will be played in Ohio, facing both teams that reside in that state. They’ll see the Cleveland Browns first and then the Cincinnati Bengals the following week. Those games will go a long way in determining how the North will shake out as the teams are in a log jam.

The Browns are coming off of a big win, but it almost feels like the Steelers wouldn’t want it any other way, and they’ve already beat them once this season. The Bengals are finding their stride with a healthy Joe Burrow.

If the Steelers get through that, they’ll face two of the NFL’s worst teams in the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots to follow that. 9-4 is feasible coming out of that stretch, but I’m sure the Steelers would settle for even 8-5, assuming both losses don’t come at the hands of their AFC North foes.

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