Kenny Pickett: Mental mistakes 'need to get addressed' before Steelers return from bye

PHILADELPHIA — The first time the Pittsburgh Steelers offense was on the field Sunday, it lost 7 yards in three plays before punting.

To rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, those physical shortcomings were easier to digest than the mistakes that took place on the next series. And the Steelers scored a touchdown on that second drive.

The Steelers were guilty of three pre-snap infractions to prolong a possession that already included 13 plays and covered 75 yards before a touchdown was produced.

On the second snap, left guard Kevin Dotson was called for being an ineligible player downfield. A few plays later, right tackle Chuks Okorafor was whistled for an illegal formation. Then, on first down from the Steelers 47, the play clock expired resulting in a delay of game flag.

“You feel progress and you have a penalty of something mental you can’t control — those are the things that frustrate you more than anything,” said Pickett, who has not won a game that he has started and finished this season. “A guy dropping a ball or missing a block or if I miss a throw … you can put up with that. The things you can’t put up with are the mental mistakes.”

Later in the first half, left tackle Dan Moore was flagged for an illegal formation. On defense, nose tackle Montravius Adams was penalized for lining up in the neutral zone.

Pickett wasn’t the only player on offense exasperated.

More on the Steelers' loss to the Eagles:

• Hurts puts hurting on Steelers as woes in Philadelphia continue
• Steelers frustrated by inability to contain big plays against Eagles
• From fish market job to NFL game in 48 hours, Nick Sciba makes all kicks as Steelers fill-in
• Ahkello Witherspoon benched in return to Steelers lineup after 4-game absence

“You see what is happening now?” running back Najee Harris said, repeatedly mentioned in the pre-snap infractions. “I said the exact same thing last week and the week before that.”

Coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers plan to bring officials into practice to address the pre-snap penalties that seem to be a point of emphasis for NFL officials to call this year.

“I don’t know how you can stop pre-snap penalties without emphasizing them in practice,” Harris said. “But we already do that.”

Although he’s only made a handful of NFL starts, Pickett said it might be time to be more vocal about his expectations for the Steelers offense and what needs to be relayed to teammates.

“The physical stuff, you don’t do that to a player,” he said. “He drops a ball, you don’t rip him for that. The mental stuff needs to get addressed. That will get addressed. It has to get addressed.”