The Steelers were down 10-3 going into the fourth quarter of last Saturday night’s game against the Raiders, but they wound up with a 13-10 win.
The final points came on a throw from rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett to rookie wide receiver George Pickens to cap a 76-yard drive with just under a minute left to play in the game. Second-year players Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth each had three catches during the drive and head coach Mike Tomlin liked the way the team’s young players responded to the moment.
“When you’re in those weighty moments and you’re looking around at people, you like to feel their presence. I didn’t see big eyes, I saw sure eyes. I saw guys that understood what was at stake, and guys that looked prepared to go do it. I liked the feel of the group leading up to it,” Tomlin said, via KDKA.
It’s the second fourth-quarter comeback that Pickett has overseen this year and Tomlin said he imagines that Pickett was born with the makeup that allows him to come up with winning plays in those moments. He added that getting a chance to see so much of the quarterback’s work at the University of Pittsburgh is why they “had such a great deal of comfort in his intangible quality” heading into the first round of the draft.
Pickett and company will have another prime time opportunity this week against the Ravens and finding another way to win could leave them with a shot at finishing the season with a playoff berth in Week 18.
