5 things we learned: 4th-quarter stats make ‘Clutch Kenny’ nickname appropriate for Pickett

Five things we learned from Steelers 24, Rams 17:

1. Clutch Kenny

Since Week 5 of last season, when Kenny Pickett first became the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starter, no NFL quarterback has guided more fourth-quarter drives that either tied the game or gave his team the lead than Pickett. Only one quarterback (Kirk Cousins) over that time span has more often rallied his team for a win when it was trailing or tied after the third quarter.

Pickett’s “game-winning drive” Sunday at SoFi Stadium was the sixth of his career. It was the second consecutive game Pickett led a fourth-quarter, come-from-behind win and the fourth among the past eight games Pickett has finished. The Steelers have won five consecutive games in which they trailed by one score or less after three quarters. All were stewarded by Pickett, although the comeback score in the Sept. 18 win against the Cleveland Browns was courtesy of the Steelers’ defense.

Though Pickett’s career fourth-quarter statistics are harmed by the five fourth-quarter interceptions he threw over his first five career games (he has only one such late INT in the 14 games since), adjusting the sample size to 2023 shows how good he’s been during the final quarter.

This season, Pickett has completed 73% of his passes, averaging 10.1 yards per attempt with a 102.8 passer rating during the fourth quarter of games. For perspective, only two teams have a better fourth-quarter passer rating this season (the Steelers’ team number is dragged down by Mitch Trubisky’s performance late in the Oct. 1 loss in Houston).

Pickett’s fourth-quarter completion percentage and yards per attempt are better than the numbers for any QB in the NFL (all situations) for the season.

2. Special fourth

The final quarter in L.A. dwarfed the previous comeback efforts by Pickett because Sunday was more than just one drive. The late excellence associated with wins late last season against the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens were more isolated to a single winning score. The victory two weeks ago against the Ravens did feature two sustained scoring drives – but one was a field goal, and the effort was marred by the failure to run out the clock on the final meaningful offensive possession.

Against the Rams, the Steelers were successful each of the three times they got the ball in the final quarter, managing touchdown drives of 59 and 80 yards and a 10-play, 43-yard drive that bled out the final 5 minutes and 28 seconds of play.

The Steelers’ 190 fourth-quarter yards were their most since Dec. 9, 2021, when Ben Roethlisberger led a frenzied comeback effort (it ultimately failed) at the Minnesota Vikings. The Steelers hadn’t netted as many as 190 yards in any quarter since then. The Steelers’ 11 fourth-quarter first downs against Los Angeles were their most since having 12 in the final period of a Dec. 10, 2017, game against the Ravens.

If you wipe three game-ending kneeldowns off the record, the Steelers had 195 yards on 20 fourth-quarter snaps, an average of 9.8 per play — more than double their season average of 4.7.

3. Big-play D.J.

Diontae Johnson remains without a touchdown since the penultimate game of the 2021 season, a span of 20 games, 169 targets and 101 catches. But, in his return from injured reserve Sunday, Johnson at least found a way to provide some other “splash.”

Johnson’s 39-yard catch literally began the Steelers’ fourth-quarter explosion — it came on the first play of the period. And it was the first of the “clutch” late-game plays, too — it achieved a first down on a third-and-8.

The reception was the longest gain for Johnson in almost two full years, since he had a 50-yard catch at Cleveland on Halloween 2021.

4. ‘Shutdown’ OLB?

T.J. Watt had an interception in his NFL debut six years ago. It was a sign of things to come for a player most known for sacking quarterbacks, not necessarily for picking them off.

Watt’s interception of Matthew Stafford on the first play of the second half Sunday was the seventh of his career and the sixth over the past five seasons. Over that time span, according to Pro Football Focus, all the other “edge defenders” in the NFL (totaling several hundred such players) have combined for 69 interceptions over the past five years headed into the weekend. None have as many as Watt.

Watt has dropped into coverage for 521 snaps over the course of his career. He’s allowed 41 catches and three touchdowns. When targeting a player Watt has had in coverage over the course of Watt’s career, opposing quarterbacks have a paltry 66.3 passer rating (per PFF).

5. Bye-bye

The Steelers’ superlatives in games immediately following their annual idle week continued. Since the NFL’s first byes in 1990, only two teams have more victories in the week following it than the Steelers’ 23.

Since Mike Tomlin became coach in 2007, the Steelers are 13-4 in the game after an idle weekend. That’s the best record of any team over that time span. Tomlin’s teams are 7-3 in road games immediately after a bye, tied for the best record in the NFL under such circumstances.

The Steelers join the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans in winning each of their post-bye games dating to 2017.

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