Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
It might be time to get Kenny Pickett on the field.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are quickly coming to a crossroads at the quarterback position. The team is 1-2 and losing ground in the AFC North. This has many speculating about not if but when the Steelers will turn to rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett to take over the starting spot. Here are four reasons the Steelers should start Pickett.
Is this the week the Steelers will finally throw to the middle of the field?
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For some unknown reason, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada treats the middle of the field like the Bermuda Triangle. You dare not go in there. His route concepts basically eliminate the middle third of the field, doing the defense’s job for them.
However this week, against the New York Jets, Canada really needs to reconsider this bizarre strategy and take advantage of some potential mismatches in the passing offense.
The Jets tandem of safeties, Jordan Whitehead and Lamarcus Joyner have struggled mightily this season, Whitehead has allowed a 150.3 passer rating when being targeted and Joyner has been even worse at 158.3. They also have 10 missed tackles on the season between the two of them.
Huge athletes like wide receiver Chase Claypool and tight end Pat Freiermuth are in perfect positions to patrol the middle of the field and be able to exploit one of the Jets’ biggest weaknesses on paper.
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The Steelers need to be focused on the run game this week.
This week the Pittsburgh Steelers come back home to take on the New York Jets after an extended break and hope to snap a two-game losing streak. Pittsburgh is struggling on both sides of the football and cannot afford to fall to the 1-2 Jets at home. Here are our early worries this week.
The Steelers will face Zach Wilson in Pittsburgh.
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According to NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, the New York Jets should have quarterback Zach Wilson back when the Jets take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in Week Four.
Wilson suffered a meniscus injury during the preseason but didn’t go on IR while he recovered so he could continue to practice with the team. The Jets have never been in any rush to get Wilson back on the field with veteran Joe Flacco starting in his place.
Going into Sunday’s game with the Cincinnati Bengals, New York is 1-1and Flacco has thrown for 616 yards in two games. Lifetime, Flacco has a 10-11 record against the Steelers.
Last season, as a rookie, Wilson started 13 games and threw for 2,334 yards. He was 3-10 as a starter.
With no setbacks and continued progress as he recovers from a meniscus tear and bone bruise in his knee, #Jets QB Zach Wilson is expected to be cleared by doctors next week, sources say. That puts him in line to play against the Steelers in Week 4.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 25, 2022
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Steelers vs Browns: Grading the offensive positional units
Through three games, the Pittsburgh Steelers rank near the bottom in nearly every offensive category. Thursday was another underwhelming offensive performance and there seems to be no quick fix out there. The Steelers were held to 308 yards of offense and just 17 points. Here are our grades for each of the offensive positional units.
Vote for who the starting quarterback should be next week.
One advantage to playing on Thursday night is it now gives the Pittsburgh Steelers extra time to sort out the roster, iron out any problems the team might have including changes in the lineup.
For the Steelers this is all about quarterback. Head coach Mike Tomlin said after Pittsburgh’s loss to the Cleveland Browns he will be making no changes at quarterback but we all know you can never say never.
So our question is who should start against the New York Jets? Mitch Trubisky looked better on Thursday but I’m not sure he did enough to keep the job. Behind him the Steelers have talented rookie Kenny Pickett and veteran Mason Rudolph just waiting for their opportunity.
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The Steelers have five games before the bye week. I’ve contended all offseason this is the ideal time to make a change if the team wants to. But at 1-2, they might be forced to push up that timeline. So cast your vote and leave your pick in the comments below.
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