Kenny Pickett

Kenny Pickett is preparing to start his first game in the NFL. Here's how the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback could fare against a strong Bills defense.

In a game that could see Buffalo take an early lead, the Steelers will be forced to fight back through the air. But what will the rookie quarterback be able to do in his first start against a very talented Bills defense? I’m going to be a bit more optimistic with my prediction. What we saw last week was encouraging, and I think that Pickett will continue to show signs of life we previously didn’t see. He certainly gave the Steelers offense a spark last week after coming in for Trubisky. After Mitch Trubiksy struggled once again in Week 4 against the New York Jets, Mike Tomlin made the decision to bench him at halftime and roll with the rookie.

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't have much fight in them on Sunday, losing to the Buffalo Bills, 38-3, in one of the franchise's worst performances this ...

"Kenny Pickett will fight the entire Bills team. I love it," another fan added. "I’ll take a QB who fights any day, any time and for any reason.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — In preparing to make his first NFL career start, Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett understandably dismisses the narrative ...

The Bills demolished the Pittsburgh Steelers up in Buffalo behind 400 passing yards and four touchdowns from Josh Allen.

Short passes combined with good running after the catch made for an efficient drive but they again stalled and turned the ball over on downs. A gain of 23 yards to Diontae Johnson kickstarted the drive and they didn't face a third down until they were on the Bills 20 yard line. Josh Jackson recovered the loose ball and Diggs tackled him in the endzone for a touchback. The Steelers got the ball to start the second half and continued to move the ball successfully though the air. The Steelers got the ball back and finally found a rhythm on offense. But with their offense on the doorstep, Morris fumbled a shovel pass into the endzone. Allen connected with Diggs for a 15-yard score and the Bills led 24-3 with 7:24 left to play in the first half. Allen diced up the secondary and converted on a redzone chance for the first time. But the Steelers bowed up deep in their own territory and forced a field goal attempt that DeMarvin Leal then blocked to keep the score steady at 7-0 and bring on rookie Kenny Pickett to begin his first start. Outstanding coverage on the opening kickoff and a fumbled reception Taiwan Jones pinned the Bills at their own one to start the game. The strike went for 62 yards and put the Bulls up 17-3. Good special teams play from Pierre on a rolling punt from Pressley Harvin put the Bills offense back on their own two yard line to start the second quarter.

The Steelers rookie looked as good as a quarterback conceivably can while on the wrong side of a 38-3 blowout.

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In his starting debut for the Steelers, Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yards in losing to the Bills, showing some fire after he felt Shaq Lawson's hit was too ...

Hamlin came in as Pickett was already going down into his slide, and Steelers offensive lineman [James Daniels](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3894849/james-daniels) jumped to Pickett's defense and shoved Hamlin after the play, initiating a minor melee between the two teams near the Bills' sideline. I had a problem with the fact that it wasn't officiated in a way that I anticipated it being officiated." We gotta be a lot better in the red zone. Afterward, neither Pickett nor Tomlin had a problem with Hamlin, a Pitt product and college teammate of Pickett's, but they believed Hamlin should've been called for roughing the passer. Lawson left the game soon after and shouted back toward the field as he walked to the locker room. Pickett took exception to the hit and shoved the defensive end as he picked himself up off the turf.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were humiliated worse than they have been in decades, but it's good to Kenny Pickett's teammates have his back.

This is a great sign, and Pickett clearly has the respect of the offensive line. Despite things going so horribly wrong for the Steelers in this embarrassing performance against the Bills, Kenny Pickett’s teammates made it clear that they have his back no matter how bad things look. A few teammates joined in on the scuffle. After gaining a big chunk of yards and picking up a would-be first down with his legs on a third and long, Pickett took a shot near the head area while sliding. This resulted in Buffalo entering the tunnel at the half with a 31-3 lead. Even though this game was a massacre from the second quarter on, it’s clear that there’s a different energy level that begins and ends with quarterback, Kenny Pickett.

Multiple fights broke out and one Bills player was ejected after the Steelers took issue with a pair of hits on Kenny Pickett.

That prompted the Pittsburgh QB to give the defensive end a push, igniting another ruckus. As he slid to the turf, Bills safety Damar Hamlin delivered what appeared to be a late hit to his upper-body area. However, Pickett was called for unnecessary roughness for his shove on Lawson. A similar incident took place in Week 4 Pickett's teammates immediately took exception, with offensive lineman James Daniels shoving Hamlin to the ground. Pickett and the 1-4 Steelers now have to head back to the drawing board ahead of a matchup with the Dolphins next week.

Pickett didn't charge. There was optimism among Steelers fans when Coach Mike Tomlin made the move this week from Mitchell Trubisky to Kenny Pickett, the only ...

The Lions are ranked first in the NFL in total offense and last in total defense. The Steelers made Pickett, a University of Pittsburgh product, the only quarterback chosen in the first round of the draft in April. He undeniably provided the Steelers with a burst of energy against the Jets, with a pair of second-half rushing touchdowns. The defense stopped the Packers on a fourth-and-one attempt from the New York 6-yard line with just more than a minute to play and the Giants leading, 27-20. With the late-afternoon triumphs by the Eagles at Arizona and by the Dallas Cowboys over the Los Angeles Rams in Inglewood, Calif., the NFC East has a 5-0 team and two 4-1 teams. The team initially called him questionable to return to the game but later For the first time, a Cousins-quarterbacked team is off to a 4-1 start. [implemented Saturday](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/10/08/tua-tagovailoa-nfl-investigation-protocols/?itid=lk_inline_manual_21) by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. Yet the Giants found a way. The Giants improved to 4-1 with their 27-22 win over the Packers in London. Zappe threw for 188 yards, with a touchdown pass and an interception, as the Patriots shut out the Detroit Lions, 29-0, in Foxborough, Mass., to improve their record to 2-3. The Giants and Jets have a combined record of 7-3 after their victories Sunday.

What's the Steelers' next move after the team's most lopsided loss of the Mike Tomlin era? Judy Battista says the coach was leaving the door open to any ...

If the Steelers are looking for a sign of hope, it is that as overwhelming as the loss was, Pickett did not seem overwhelmed by the moment or the daunting assignment he had. Watt](https://www.nfl.com/players/t-j-watt/), the defense was a sieve, allowing receiver [Gabe Davis](https://www.nfl.com/players/gabe-davis/) to get behind it for a [98-yard touchdown](https://www.nfl.com/videos/can-t-miss-play-98-yard-td-allen-unleashes-deep-td-to-davis) that opened the game -- a "kick in the face", [Cam Heyward](https://www.nfl.com/players/cameron-heyward/) called it. Now, he faces what might be a long season and many difficult decisions to position the team for the future around a young quarterback. But the Steelers were 0 of 4 in the red zone and it was plain that the Steelers' one-dimensional offense did Pickett no favors. They were already trailing 31-3, but at halftime, they talked about wanting to score a touchdown to start the third quarter. ... Football is the ultimate team game and we got smashed as a collective today so I don't have a lot of individual analysis." The offensive line needs improvement so the running game can contribute, although it was also the victim of the early hole the Steelers were in against Buffalo. The first drive of the second half summed up the day for the Steelers and Pickett. He could see up close what the Steelers badly need from him -- the talent, of course, although it will be hard for anyone to match Allen's stunning arm, but also the command of the offense and the fearlessness, a good bit of which Pickett already seems to possess. It was the worst loss of Mike Tomlin's career and the fewest points the Steelers have scored since the 2019 season opener against New England, and as much as anything, the Steelers looked stunned. He was, not surprisingly, in no mood to try to look on the bright side, which is where Pickett's play had carved out an area. And the Bills are Super Bowl contenders because of him.

The Kenny Pickett era in Pittsburgh officially began today with the rookie quarterback making his first career start, and it was certainly one to forget.

Of course the priority from the team perspective has to be on getting better. Right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor immediately jumped in to back up his quarterback after Pickett engaged with Lawson. I don’t care, I’m gonna keep playing ‘til the last play of the game, and that was it. The Kenny Pickett era in Pittsburgh officially began today with the rookie quarterback making his first career start, and it was certainly one to forget. Pickett did not take kindly to that, shoving him while both were still on their knees, sparking a shoving match between the two sides. While Pickett overall played a decent game, certainly with some notable highs, he was not without his flaws.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were big-time losers vs. the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, and there were plenty of moments throughout the game where things got “chippy” ...

The play wasn’t flagged, but offensive guard went after the Bills defender, Damar Hamlin, and let him know he didn’t appreciate his quarterback being hit that late. What about Pickett’s response? One happened in the waning moments of the game, when rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett was scrambling to his right to throw, and was hit low by Bills defender Shaq Lawson.

The Bills took a 7-0 lead just 1:04 into the game when quarterback Josh Allen threw a 98-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gabe Davis who, somehow, got ...

Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Joe” show weekdays from 10 a.m. “They drafted me in the first round for a reason,” he said. Once they drafted me, I wanted to be the guy. I was dreaming about this day since I picked up a football. Earlier, Pickett was drilled by Bills safety Damar Hamlin — a former teammate at Pitt — as he was starting to slide at the end of a 10-yard scramble. “I was ready to go. “We all care for each other,” he said. He completed 5 of 7 passes for 44 yards, converting a 3rd-and-11 with 12-yard pass to George Pickens and a 3rd-and-4 with an 8-yard pass to Zach Gentry. He finished 34 of 52 for 327 yards and one interception with a 74.8 passer rating. Afterward, Pickett lamented the fact the offense went 0 for 4 in the red zone after, in his words, “moving the ball up and down the field.” It didn’t help that Chris Boswell missed field goals from 33 and 45 yards on a typically windy day in upstate New York. But Pickett’s popularity with Steelers fans did nothing but grow if only because he started a dust-up with Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson late in the game. The offense, even with Pickett instead of Mitch Trubisky, can’t score points.

Pittsburgh Steelers fans don't have a lot to write home about after getting massacred by the Buffalo Bills in Week 5. Here's why this was a game to forget.

I like to see that fire from Pickett, but he’s going to have to show much more on offense in the future if he is to lead his team to any sort of success. Prior to this game, the Steelers haven’t lost a game by 35 points since 1989. This was simply a disaster from the start. In the second half, any shot of a comeback was unrealistic. While a blocked field goal gave Pittsburgh fans a glimmer of hope early in the first quarter, that light quickly faded as Allen and the Bills immediately racked up the points on their inferior opponent. The defense quickly got this team a hole after surrendering a 99-yard touchdown pass to Josh Allen as he was backed up into his own endzone.

Lawson hit Pickett low as he got rid of a pass while scrambling near the sideline and Pickett shoved him once he got up. More players joined the scrum and Bills ...

Given the final score, there are plenty of other problems for the Steelers to concern themselves with on Sunday night as well. That was it. “That’s it. More players joined the scrum and Bills defensive end Epenesa](https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/football/nfl/player/60062/aj-epenesa) was ejected from the game. [Kenny Pickett](https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/football/nfl/player/66964/kenny-pickett) went after Bills defensive end [Shaq Lawson](https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/football/nfl/player/926/shaq-lawson) at the end of a play in the fourth quarter of their 38-3 loss on Sunday and he told reporters after the game that he felt Lawson was guilty of a dirty play.