There were a lot of positives to take away from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 20-10 win on Sunday over the New Orleans Saints.

• The Steelers managed to hold the Saints offense to 186 total yards as T.J. Watt returned to action.

• The Steelers offense rushed for 217 yards.

• The Steelers only committed three penalties and held the ball for almost 39 minutes.

• The Steelers had two takeaways and committed no turnovers.

• The Steelers were 9 of 17 on third downs, while holding the Saints to a 3-of-12 mark, while also stopping a crucial fourth down.

On the negative side, though, was the passing game. The team only netted 162 passing yards. Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett threw for 199 with no interceptions. But he was sacked six times. And his passer rating was just 79.7 as he went 18 of 30 for a 6.6 yard average with no passing touchdowns (he did rush for 51 yards and a score).

In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE tells us that he is unimpressed with Pickett’s progress so far.

“Right now, I think he stinks,” Madden said. “I haven’t seen him make any discernible progress since he got in that Jets game.”

• Feats of Strength: Steelers defense, running game come up big in much-needed win over Saints • Steelers come out running vs. Saints, finish with their best rushing game in 6 years • Minkah Fitzpatrick underwent appendectomy soon after Steelers’ Saturday walkthrough

I would say that, at least in this game, Pickett managed to avoid an interception. He had thrown at least one in every other game that he played from beginning to end. And at least in this game, the Steelers managed to finish off a few drives. But that was by virtue of the run game as much as it was anything else.

Madden’s frustration seems to be that most Steelers fans don’t want to discuss Pickett’s shortcomings and would prefer to shift blame to offensive coordinator Matt Canada or some other element of the offense.

“It’s still Canada. It’s still the game plan,” Madden said of complaints from Steelers fans. “I just hear all this (garbage) where it’s not his fault. But is he the only quarterback in history that doesn’t impact the winning or losing, and he is just a bystander? It’s the most important position in football.”

Also in the podcast, Madden and I get into the Najee Harris-Jaylen Warren dynamic. We also discuss the Penguins goaltending situation. And we talk about the Pirates’ acquisition of Ji-Man Choi.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden talk Steelers, Penguins and Pirates

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)