Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Chad Johnson thinks Steelers should stick with Mitchell Trubisky over Kenny Pickett

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 9/23/22

The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 1-2 on the season via their "Thursday Night Football" loss at the division-rival Cleveland Browns that featured starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky largely underwhelming fans with his play. Even before that defeat, however, some were calling for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to sit Trubisky in favor of rookie and first-round draft selection Kenny Pickett.

Tomlin seemed unmoved by such individuals when he later told reporters he "definitely" wasn't thinking about making a quarterback change at this stage of the campaign. Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson, who spent a decade with fellow AFC North club the Cincinnati Bengals during his career, backed Tomlin on Friday via Twitter:

Can’t throw Pickett out there to the wolves, not fair to him & his growth, let Mitch ride it out, so many viable weapons offensively i wouldn’t even put the onus on the QB as to why things aren’t going well & this is coming from a Bengal w/ a fair assessment the past 3 weeks. https://t.co/jg2IRor7zY
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) September 23, 2022

“your time will come oh great one” pic.twitter.com/n3C6oe5o7A
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) September 23, 2022

Per ESPN stats, Trubisky will enter the weekend 28th among eligible quarterbacks with a 77.7 passer rating, 19th with a 43.8 total QBR, and 32nd out of 33 signal-callers with an average of 5.5 yards per pass attempt. Michael Baca of the NFL's website shared some concerning information about Trubisky's evening versus Cleveland.

"According to Next Gen Stats, 78.1% of Trubisky's attempts were thrown outside the numbers and he was 9 of 12 for 129 yards on intermediate passes. Trubisky completed just 1 of 6 deep passes for 36 yards, and the lone connection was due in large part to George Pickens' amazing catch," Baca noted.

"Once the Browns took away the sidelines and forced Trubisky to throw down the middle, the Steelers offense stagnated and made life easy for a Browns defense that blew a late lead last Sunday. At the end of the night, Pittsburgh had 308 yards of total offense and converted just 1 of 11 third downs."

On Thursday morning, former NFL player and current analyst Damien Woody said Pittsburgh's offensive line is a bigger problem for the club than Trubisky in the early days of fall. Perhaps Tomlin agrees because Trubisky remains on track to start the Week 4 home game against the New York Jets on Oct. 2.

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