2023 in Pittsburgh professional sports: Kenny Pickett's highs, lows an ongoing storyline for Steelers
The first day of the calendar year brought a sense of anticipation and hope for a fruitful future for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The last day of 2023? It shows just how complicated and unsettled the outlook for the organization really is.
When Kenny Pickett directed an 80-yard winning drive in the final minutes of a Jan. 1 road game at rival Baltimore, at the time it was said to show what promise Pickett had as the franchise quarterback, and, in turn, how bright the prospects for the Steelers’ next few seasons seemed.
Three hundred sixty-four days later, though, the Steelers play on New Year’s Eve not with Pickett in the lineup but with Mason Rudolph making his second consecutive start at quarterback. And while an ankle injury is the purported reason for Pickett’s status (Pickett declared himself healthy enough to play), that Rudolph produced a better statistical game in his lone start than Pickett has at any point in his two-season career is indicative of the fragile nature of Pickett’s status as the long-term face of the franchise.
Pickett continued to prove clutch during the 2023 season, directing three fourth-quarter comebacks and three winning drives in the fourth quarter over the first half of the season. But he also ranked near the bottom of the list of the league’s starting quarterbacks in completion percentage (62.0%), passer rating (81.4), QBR (38.4) and touchdown passes (six), as well as in passing yards per game (172.5), per attempt (6.4) and per completion (10.3).
The perceived lack of development of Pickett, the Steelers’ 2022 first-round pick, contributed to the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada on Nov. 21. Overall production that ranked as fifth worst in the NFL in points and yardage, of course, also played a role.
But while Canada’s ouster satiated the fanbase, it produced little results in improving the Steelers’ scoring production, at least until Rudolph guided a 34-11 win against Cincinnati on Dec. 23. Rudolph replaced ineffective backup Mitch Trubisky late in the game the week before.
The lack of progress offensively was especially vexing after a preseason in which great optimism reigned when the first-team offense scored five touchdowns over five drives. But all the good vibes came to screeching halt during a dud of a 30-7 regular season-opening home loss to San Francisco.
Still, buoyed by a strong draft that produced three rookie starters (right tackle Broderick Jones, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., defensive tackle Keeanu Benton) and an aggressive free-agency in the first offseason directed by general manager Omar Khan, the Steelers managed to stay in the playoff race throughout the season. Continued elite play from NFL sacks leader T.J. Watt helped, too.
After a 7-2 finish to last season, the Steelers began this season 6-3 and 7-4. Tomlin was getting mentioned as a coach of the year candidate until an ugly three-game losing streak to open December. That put the organization’s run of 19 consecutive non-losing seasons in jeopardy and had plenty of rumblings calling for Tomlin’s firing.
Cutch’s return, hot start highlight Pirates campaign
After enduring back-to-back 100-loss campaigns, the Pirates became one of the best stories in baseball for the first two months of a season that started with the swinging of imaginary swords and ended with hope for the future.
To the delight of fans at PNC Park, Andrew McCutchen was back in black and gold. Five years after being traded, the five-time All-Star and 2013 NL MVP received a rousing ovation before his first at-bat in the home opener. Fans celebrated the 10th anniversary of their wild-card win over Cincinnati with a blackout crowd that watched A.J. Burnett throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Russell Martin and listened to McCutchen’s mother, Petrina, singing the national anthem.
“I love these fans. I love these fans, man,” McCutchen said. “It was great. … I was trying to keep my feelings in check up there, but at the same time, I didn’t want to suppress them. Definitely welling up, but I knew I needed to hit. Eyes couldn’t be too watery.
“Just how special this place is to me, especially my family, how we’re able to sit there and experience it and experience it together. It was a long time coming. It was a special moment. You only get one Opening Day at home. I’ve just been thankful that I had the opportunity to come back and to be able to experience it again.”
Despite losing shortstop Oneil Cruz to a fractured left ankle in the first homestand, the Pirates ended April with the best record in the National League (20-9). The early catalyst was outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who went from requesting a trade in the offseason to signing a franchise-record, eight-year, $106.75 million contract.
With 42-year-old lefty Rich Hill serving as mentor, the rotation provided 18 quality starts through the first 28 games. The Pirates remained atop the NL Central until mid-June, when season-ending injuries to pitchers JT Brubaker and Vince Velasquez took a toll and they slipped from first to worst in the division standings amid a 10-game losing streak.
Mitch Keller, who was demoted to Triple-A in 2021 and to the bullpen the next year, was selected an All-Star for the first time and developed into the staff ace, making 32 starts for the first time while recording the most strikeouts (210) by a right-hander in club history. David Bednar produced the highest save percentage of any closer, recording 39 saves in 42 opportunities.
The trade deadline saw the Pirates deal veterans Hill, first basemen Ji-Man Choi and Carlos Santana and catcher Austin Hedges but elect to keep Bednar and Keller, signaling that both were considered cornerstones of the rebuild.
The future arrived in waves, first with former first-round picks in Carmen Mlodzinski and Henry Davis — who became the first player in the majors to homer twice off superstar Shohei Ohtani in one game — and then with the promotion of catcher Endy Rodriguez.
The Pirates started six rookies in an 11-0 loss to Cleveland on July 17 but finished the month with a dramatic extra-inning win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Rookies Davis, Rodriguez and Nick Gonzales combined for a 9-2-4-2 double play in the top of the 10th, and Joshua Palacios hit a two-run, walk-off homer for a 6-4 win.
Behind the hitting and Gold Glove play of Ke’Bryan Hayes at third base, the Pirates went 29-28 over the final two months and recorded the greatest comeback victory in franchise history in the process. They trailed the Reds by nine runs after four innings but rallied for a 13-12 win Sept. 23 at Great American Ball Park.
When the season ended, the Pirates (76-86) had made a 14-win improvement and, with the youngest roster in baseball, believed the best was yet to come.
“I think that’s important. Fourteen more wins than last year is really important. And we still have steps to go,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said, echoing the words of general manager Ben Cherington. “I’m really proud, especially of the group we had the last two months, with a lot of young players, of the amount of improvement we’ve made. Ben’s talked consistently about, ‘We have to get better.’ This year we got better.”
Penguins endure management, roster changes
The Penguins opened 2023 in poor fashion, losing the Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston.
And the ending of their 2023 is … well … it’s a work in progress.
During the 363 days in between, quite a bit happened.
With top goaltender Tristan Jarry hobbled by various injuries, the Penguins stumbled in the final months of the 2022-23 season and missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years.
After general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke were fired April 14, owners with Fenway Sports Group underwent an exhaustive search to find a new leader for the team.
By June 1, Kyle Dubas, freshly jettisoned by the Toronto Maple Leafs, was installed as president of hockey operations and began to overhaul the club.
Starting with a trade for forward Reilly Smith from the Vegas Golden Knights at the NHL Draft on June 28, Dubas began to gather complementary pieces. On the first day of the NHL’s free agent signing period, Dubas brought in the likes of forwards Noel Acciari, Lars Eller and Matt Nieto; defenseman Ryan Graves; and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
Additionally, he made the bold decision to re-sign Jarry to a five-year contract worth $26.875 million despite his history of injuries as well as limited playoff success.
As he added (or retained) those players, Dubas began laying the foundation for one of the biggest trades in NHL history, which, ultimately, transpired more than a month later on Aug. 6.
In a three-team transaction involving the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens, Dubas found a way to move nine players, three draft picks and $34,478,334 of potential salary cap hits to acquire Erik Karlsson, one of the greatest offensive defensemen in NHL history.
“It’s just an affirmation that we believe they have a chance to contend and compete for a championship,” Dubas proclaimed after the trade was complete.
Thus far, the notion that the Penguins can contend in 2023-24 seems far-fetched.
Languishing through mediocrity through the first two-plus months of the season, the Penguins enter the new year in the bottom rungs of the Metropolitan Division thanks, in part, to a sputtering power play, an aspect of the team that was supposed to be boosted by the arrival of Karlsson.
Hounds ousted in first round
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds won the USL Player’s Shield for the league’s best record this season. The Hounds (19-6-10) also made it to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, defeating two MLS teams along the way: the New England Revolution and Columbus Crew.
But their season came to a close after a 1-0 loss to Detroit City in the first round of the USL Championship playoffs in front of 6,123 fans at Highmark Stadium.
Albert Dikwa was named the league’s player of the year, and Arturo Ordonez was the league’s defender of the year. Bob Lilley was honored as USL Championship Coach of the Year.
Maulers out of USFL
The Pittsburgh Maulers were contracted out of the USFL after two seasons after it was announced earlier this month that the USFL and XFL would merge for the 2024 season.
The Maulers finished 1-9 in 2022 and improved to 4-6 last spring. They defeated the Michigan Panthers in the USFL North Division Championship Game, advancing to their first USFL Championship, where they lost to the Birmingham Stallions, 28-12.
Staff writers Kevin Gorman and Seth Rorabaugh contributed.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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