To say that Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett has struggled this season would be an understatement.
The first-round pick entered Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens having accounted for eight total touchdowns compared to 10 turnovers. He needed to turn it around if Pittsburgh were to go into Baltimore and remain alive in the AFC Playoff race with a win.
It was not looking great for pretty much three quarters and 11 minutes before Pittsburgh took over down 13-9 with four minutes and 16 seconds remaining in the final stanza.
The Steelers took over at their own 20 yard line and had to travel 80 yards down the field against the NFL’s 10th-ranked defense. Pickett did not disappoint.
The rookie completed 5-of-6 passes for 64 yards on that final drive, culminating in an absolutely ridiculous touchdown pass to Najee Harris for the win. When we say ridiculous, we’re not kidding.
What a play by the rookie! @kennypickett10
— NFL (@NFL) January 2, 2023
: #PITvsBAL on NBC
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/K8OMv0nWCp pic.twitter.com/bBM96rHBct
Avoiding that pressure was absolutely insane stuff from Kenny Pickett. But the dime to Harris is what showed Pickett might have legend built into his name moving forward.
The Steelers’ playoff hopes were on the line. They needed a big play or two from Pickett on that final drive. He provided five of them to oust the division-rival Ravens and keep Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes alive. Remember, this came one week after Pickett led a late-game comeback in a win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Eve.
Pickett ended up completing just 15-of-27 passes for 168 yards in the 16-13 win. But no one in Steel City cares about that stat line. All they care about is his epic late-game comeback to keep the Steelers’ playoff hopes alive.
Kenny Pickett:
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 2, 2023
Two straight weeks leading game-winning drives
Four game-winning drives on the year
Not half bad for the @steelers rookie QB.
Kenny Pickett has some with him bruh… He can have a night when he just can’t find anything until you need it most. Little mittens may have small hands, but he got big nu… I mean a big heart!!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) January 2, 2023
Kenny Pickett is the real deal
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 2, 2023
I HaVeNt sEeN eNoUgH OuT oF KenNy PiCkEtT
— Dorin Dickerson (@scorindorin) January 2, 2023
Shut up.
Kenny Pickett won another game, you guys. Say it.
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) January 2, 2023
If Kenny Pickett leading a game winning drive In back to back weeks, and one against the ravens on the road, doesn’t silence the critics, nothing will. He’s arrived.
— Kevin Adams (@KevinAdams26) January 2, 2023
"I'm just telling you, if Patrick Mahomes made this play, we'd be putting it right to the Hall of Fame. That's a Patrick Mahomes kind of magical moment in the clutch part of a football game that sets quarterbacks apart."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 2, 2023
High praise for Kenny Pickett pic.twitter.com/k9ffe1mNML
Kenny Pickett evaded pressure to find Najee Harris in the end zone for the game-winning TD.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 2, 2023
Pickett was traveling 13.11 mph when he released the ball — his first career TD pass on the run (8+ mph).#PITvsBAL | Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/9jNPEU6ONh
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