Tim Benz: Kenny Pickett's 'spark' better last a 'definitive' time for Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky seemed to lock in on the phrase.

I can’t blame him. So did I.

While conducting post-game interviews Sunday after he was benched for Pitt product Kenny Pickett during a 24-20 loss to the New York Jets, Trubisky was asked if he thought his benching was performance related or if head coach Mike Tomlin was “looking for a spark” from the rookie backup.

“You’ll have to ask him,” Trubisky replied.

A second reporter responded that “a spark” is what Tomlin had just said in his press conference that ended moments before.

Trubisky collected his thoughts for a moment, nodded his head a few times, and said, “Looking for a spark. There you go.”

Click the link and read whatever subtext you want into the exchange.

The way I interpreted it was, “A spark? OK, if it was just a ‘spark’ for this game, does that mean I’m getting my starting job back before the game in Buffalo next week?”

Had Trubisky asked that out loud, I think we all would’ve known the answer. Not the least of whom, Trubisky himself.

If we didn’t, Tomlin made it clear Tuesday afternoon by announcing Pickett would start this weekend’s game against the Bills, with Trubisky relegated to second string.

Tomlin was right on Sunday. A “spark” was necessary coming out of halftime against the Jets. The Steelers were trailing 10-6. The spark also worked. Pickett scored two rushing touchdowns as part of a comeback that put the Steelers in front 20-10.

Albeit temporarily. Until the defense blew the lead, and the Jets won the game. Does anyone on the coaching staff have any “sparks” in reserve for that side of the ball? When is T.J. Watt coming back, exactly?

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Tomlin stuck with the “spark” explanation Tuesday during his weekly press conference.

“We decided to go to Kenny in hopes that he would provide a spark for us,” Tomlin said. “We felt that not only in terms of our ability to move the ball but just in terms of energy. Hopefully, that’s a catalyst for us as we try to move forward and change the outcome of some of these games. … A lot of things to be excited about and a lot of things to have urgency regarding, and that’s just a component of it.”

Between Tomlin and his players, I’ve heard so much about sparks since Sunday that I’m wondering if Pickett’s job is to lead an NFL offense or jumpstart a dead car battery.

Then again, based on how the offense was operating under Trubisky, what’s the difference?

Let’s be honest, though. This wasn’t about looking for a spark. Trying to spark a team is what a hockey coach does when he pulls a starting goalie for the second-string guy when the team gets down 3-0 in the first 10 minutes on a November night in New Jersey.

This was starting a new era. Devlin Hodges replacing Mason Rudolph in 2019 was a spark. A series of Kordell Stewart doing his “Slash” routine before he became a full-time starter in 1997 was a jumpstart.

This is a sea change. Pickett is the guy who is supposed to take Pittsburgh into the post-Ben Roethlisberger era. Trubisky was the bridge guy. It just turns out that his bridge was more Hot Metal in size and not so much Golden Gate.

That’s what happens when your team drafts a 24-year-old QB in the first round from the college program that shares its stadium — just six weeks after the bridge guy is signed. Suddenly the bridge gets a lot shorter.

Once a rookie of that description starts, he’s not coming out of the game unless — how did Tomlin put it recently — he completely “urinates down his leg.”

Pickett has shown no signs of that concern. Then again, he has yet to make an NFL start but will do so Sunday against the AFC favorite and a defense, that’s tops in the NFL in yards allowed per game and passing yards per game.

The Steelers are going to need more than a spark from Pickett. He needs to be able to power Pittsburgh’s entire electrical grid.

Roethlisberger prolonged his spark for 14 unbeaten weeks as a starter his rookie year before running out of juice in the 2004 playoffs. How long can we expect Pickett’s surge of energy to sustain?

“I think that he’s kind of provided that spark since we’ve been stepping in stadiums. It’s just a component of who he is as a player and a quarterback, the things that he does, how he communicates, his competitive spirit. I think it’s a positive catalyst for us,” Tomlin said.

If it sounds like I’m nitpicking on Tomlin’s word choice here, I am. That’s because Tomlin is famous for choosing his words and delivery very carefully to communicate his points through the media or directly to his players.

That’s why it was so jarring to see Tomlin make this QB change at halftime of a game when he was only a week removed from emphatically punctuating his support for Trubisky and the rest of the offensive personnel with his abrupt use of the word “definitively.”

But Tomlin said the situation called for a change at halftime of the Jets contest.

“It’s just how we felt in-game,” Tomlin said. “When you’re there, how do you know that you’re there? You just kind of know when you’re there. I think that’s probably the perspective that I have on the decision-making component of it.

“When we make decisions, we don’t anticipate blowing in the wind. That’s not how we are. At the same time, we understand that what transpires after decision-making often determines how we move forward. We’re optimistic and thoughtful in our thought process. We believe in Kenny. We’re getting ready to play this week, and we’re singularly focused on playing a good game and winning in Buffalo, and really don’t have a lot of thoughts beyond that.”

Fair enough. But now Tomlin is in the Pickett era. He just started the clock on it. The Steelers need to stay there until or unless Pickett proves he can’t handle it.

In our weekly Breakfast With Benz Steelers podcast with Tim Benz and Joe Rutter, we preview the Bills game, discuss the QB change, and talk about some concerns on defense.

Listen: Tim Benz and Joe Rutter preview Steelers-Bills game