The Pittsburgh Steelers have made an art form out of winning late and winning ugly in 2023. Kenny Pickett has certainly kept Steelers fans on edge through the first three quarters of their games, but when the pressure is on and the moment is massive, that is when he seems to come alive. While many around the NFL and local media have been questioning whether Pickett is genuinely the guy to take the Steelers to the next level, former Super Bowl-winning cornerback for the Steelers, Ike Taylor, prioritizes Pickett's ability to be unshakeable in pivotal moments.
Steelers' Ike Taylor Sees "Tom Brady Trait" In Pickett
Taylor was on the Bleav In Steelers podcast on Tuesday to talk about the state of the Steelers, who currently sit at 6-3 in the middle of an incredibly heated 2023 AFC playoff hunt. One of the reasons for Pittsburgh's surprising 2023 record has been that when the game is on the line without much time left, Pickett turns it on and becomes one of the top quarterbacks in the league. While there are many reasons to doubt the second-year quarterback, Taylor sees things very differently.
"As a fan, as a scout, as a former player, I'm looking for someone like Kenny [Pickett]. Kenny don't come around too often in the fourth quarter, and the one thing that we do know about Kenny, if you need a drive late in the game, Kenny gonna wake up, and that's hard to find."
With two Super Bowl victories and 12 years of NFL experience under his belt, Taylor has certainly seen enough football to know what he's talking about, especially when his quarterback was Ben Roethlisberger. So, when Taylor says that he sees something different in Pickett, that isn't just a random opinion. It's a trustworthy take on a complicated situation. There may be some who would have preferred the Steelers take a different path rather than draft Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but for Taylor, there isn't anyone else who fits Pittsburgh's identity right now other than him.
"For me, Kenny is the perfect fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They can say what they wanna say about what a prototypical quarterback should look like and all the traits that they need to have. Man, give me that Tom Brady trait! And I'm not saying that Kenny is even close to Tom; I'm just saying a trait, and I know with three-and-a-half to two minutes left, and the game is close, Kenny gonna close out the game. He's gonna make that drive, and he's gonna put some points on the board."
Even with the clarification that he isn't comparing Pickett to Tom Brady, those are words of high praise from a respected member of the black and gold alumni. The 2023 Steelers may have issues, but for Taylor, one is not whether they have the right quarterback.
Steelers Live And Die By Kenny Pickett
An incredible risk comes with the style of football that the 2023 Steelers are playing right now, even if they are winning more than they lose. The margin of error is fragile; they usually need a big splash play on defense to lock the game up, and the goal is to keep things close and get the win in the end. That has worked so far, but whether it is sustainable is yet to be seen. As the Steelers head into a rough stretch of their 2023 season with two consecutive AFC North battles coming up in Weeks 11 and 12, they would much rather win outright and know early, but at least they know that if it's close and late, Pickett's got this.
The challenge for the 2023 Steelers isn't winning games late; it's ensuring that they are within reach of the game by the time the fourth quarter rolls around. The Jacksonville Jaguars kept the Steelers at arm's length to make sure a comeback didn't happen. The San Francisco 49ers had Pittsburgh's number from the jump, so they never had a chance to consider mounting a last-minute attempt at victory. The Steelers were never closer than 10 points to the Houston Texans in their 2023 Week 4 loss either.
Every other one of the games the Steelers have played in 2023 have been one-score contests, and Pittsburgh has won all six of them.
Pickett is undoubtedly a polarizing character in Pittsburgh, but he knows how to win when it comes down to it. The issue is getting him to figure out how to apply his fourth-quarter energy to the rest of the game. If the 2023 Steelers find a way to unlock that aspect of Pickett's game to where he plays a full, 60-minute game well, then Taylor will have more people come to his side of this discussion. Until then, though, Pickett will need to keep winning if he insists on floundering for the first 45 minutes of each contest.
Is Kenny Pickett the right quarterback for the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers?
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