Just when the Buffalo Bills defence thought it might be focusing on a familiar face this weekend, now preparations will be geared toward a rookie it has never seen.
At his Tuesday morning news conference, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that first-round pick Kenny Pickett will be at quarterback in a game against Buffalo that features the highest spread (Bills -14) of Week 5.
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It will be the first pro start for the 24-year-old New Jersey product who was selected 20th overall out of the University of Pittsburgh.
Pickett replaces Mitch Trubisky, a former second overall pick (2017) of the Bears who spent four years in Chicago before moving to upper state New York as the back up to Josh Allen last season.
In his four starts for the Steelers (1-3), Trubisky completed 60 per cent of his passes for 653 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Despite Pittsburgh’s long-distance weapons, he was averaging just 5.6 yards per pass.
Pickett took over in the second half of last week’s 24-20 loss at home to the New York Jets.
He completed 10-of-13 passes for 120 yards and became the first QB to rush for two touchdowns in his debut.
He also threw three interceptions.
The Steelers currently sit 30th in total yards gained, 28th in passing yards gained and 24th in points scored.
“Mitch’s performance was a component of the decision, but not the only component,” Tomlin said, per Pro Football Talk. “And I just really want to be clear there. Oftentimes, the quarterback position gets too much credit, too much blame. We haven’t moved the ball fluently enough for our liking. We hadn’t put enough points on the board. We’ve got to absorb the responsibility that comes with what we haven’t done, particularly in that phase, including myself and starting with myself.
“When you make a quarterback change, you’re really sensitive to that component of it because I don’t want to dump the responsibility of what transpired at Mitch’s feet. That’s not fair to him. He’s played better than the description. But we haven’t. So in an effort to be better, in an effort to score more points, in an effort to move the ball more fluidly, we decided to go to Kenny in the hopes that he will provide a spark for us.
“We felt that, not only in terms of our ability to move the ball, but just in terms of energy. So hopefully, that’s a catalyst for us as we try to move forward and change the outcome of some of these games.”
Pickett, it can be said, is jumping directly into the frying pan. Not only are the Steelers last in the AFC North, but they’ll be facing a Bills team that has the NFL’s No. 1 defence in yards allowed and No. 2 defence in points allowed.
DraftKings has the Steelers at +675 to win outright at Highmark Stadium, while the best number on the Bills is -699 at betWay.
– Don Brennan