Kenny Pickett proving he has some Big Ben in him in leading Steelers’ late-game heroics

It was a phrase accounting for less than 10% of a 64-word answer Cameron Heyward gave in response to a media question related to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ winning drive.

“We needed 7 at the end.”

Taken out of context, many Steelers fans had spent the better part of the past 18 years saying just that during critical, late-game situations:

“We need ‘7.’ ”

As in, No. 7. As in, future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, whose 53 career game-winning drives rank tied for the third-most in NFL history.

Kenny Pickett is beginning to show the Steelers do not, in fact, need No. 7 anymore.

“It wasn’t ideal weather to be coming back late in the game in a 2-minute drill,” center Mason Cole said, “but he got it done. Hats off to Kenny. I’m just really proud of him, and that showed what kind of player he is.”

“I feel like you can’t make it up. How the game went, the kind of conditions there were, how we won, it was incredibly special. I don’t think you can write it any better.” -- Kenny Picketthttps://t.co/PqBLmFi2Tb

— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) December 25, 2022

Pickett was mediocre over the first 57 minutes of Saturday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, but he was terrific in the Steelers’ final drive after taking over at their own 24-yard line with 2 minutes, 55 seconds left in regulation and trailing by four points.

Pickett was 19 for 30 for 166 yards, an interception and no touchdowns to that point in his return game after missing the past seven quarters because of NFL concussion protocol. But the rookie first-rounder flipped what was a 64.0 passer rating to that point on its head by posting a 138.4 rating in that final drive that was capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens and a 13-10 Steelers’ win.

“It’s funny,” said Heyward, the Steelers’ longest-tenured player and captain. “I forget who I was talking to about it, but I was saying, ‘We don’t want to put it all on the rookie’s shoulders, but he did a (heck) of a job today.”

Pickett was making his 10th NFL start two days short of 11 months that Roethlisberger retired after a final season in which he directed seven so-called “game-winning drives” (defined as being the quarterback for a victory in a game that at some point his team was tied or down by one score during the fourth quarter or overtime) in large part relying on his guile or veteran savvy.

But when Heyward said, “We needed 7 at the end,” he wasn’t talking about No. 7 (Roethlisberger).

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“We needed that touchdown (seven points),” Heyward said, “and for (Pickett) to answer the bell … was pretty special.”

Pickett was 7 for 9 for 75 yards and the touchdown in that final drive, and he had a successful QB sneak on a fourth-and-1. That means Pickett was a part of all 76 yards the Steelers needed in that moment to win the game.

“I feel like everyone was locked in on what we had to do,” Pickett said. “We didn’t let (the frigid weather) affect us. We came together, executed at a high level for the final 2-minute drive, and got in the end zone and won the game, so that’s all that matters.”

Kenny Pickett on the win and Franco Harris pic.twitter.com/Bctiz5TdoX

— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) December 25, 2022

Only 10 starts into his NFL career, Pickett has two winning drives. He also directed a 75-yard drive that provided the lead change in a win in Indianapolis last month.

The first quarterback taken in April’s draft, the scouting report on Pickett had superlatives, of course, but he was not seen, in a physical sense, as having elite arm skills. Instead, Steelers organizational brass raved about other aspects of Pickett’s game, ones that would figure to shine through in late-game moments.

So how did Pickett waltz into the huddle to begin the decisive drive?

By merely delivering the playcall, Pickens said.

“That’s pretty much it,” Pickens said. ‘No (dramatic speech) or a movie (script-like) story. It was more like, ‘Let’s go.’ ”

To hear Pickett speak, that understated demeanor is by design.

“I don’t really think too much about winning guys over,” he said. “I think my preparation throughout the week, how hard I play, I hope their opinions are on the brighter side based off that.

“We all have a really good relationship. We all believe in each other. We have no doubt we’re going to win the game when we get out there.”

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