‘He’s Tough’: Stefon Diggs Loved Kenny Pickett Standing up For Himself Vs. Bills
The Steelers and Bills ended up playing a physical, contentious game even though the game ended in a 38-3 win for Buffalo. That occurred mainly due to the scrappiness and moxie that Kenny Pickett plays with, and in his first start, he made it known that players were not going to mess with him.
Pickett stood up to Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson after a hit where Pickett thought he went after his knee. It started with a push from Pickett on Lawson, then the skirmish transpired from there forward. Many of the Steelers players liked that moxie that Pickett showed, and he explained precisely why he did it.
Kenny Pickett got hit low by Shaq Lawson and let him know about it. pic.twitter.com/rYp2kbRNUt
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 9, 2022
“I gotta watch it again, but in my opinion, he went after my knee,” Pickett said. “And that’s it. Tempers flare and I don’t care. I’m going to keep playing until the last play of the game. That was it. So, all is good with me.”
Bills receiver Stefon Diggs saw it all transpire right before him near the Bills’ sideline. He respected what Pickett did and even gave a shout to his attitude towards the play. Diggs acknowledged that Pickett was still the opponent, but he earned his respect through that play and sticking up for himself.
“I think, from my point of view, I liked it.” Diggs said on Voncast. “He’s not my quarterback, though, so he’s still the ops, but as I saw him do that, I thought that took a lot of guts to do that from the quarterback position on defensive lineman especially. You know Shaq. He’s tough, and his teammates came and backed him. So, you have to give him some respect. I always say, he’s the type of guy they’ve got some s*** with him. He’s not your run of the mill, take it on the chin guy.”
Diggs was not the only Bill that was impressed, however. Von Miller knew that Kenny Pickett was spunky and could bring some attitude to the table. Miller thinks that Pickett wanted to send a message that he would not accept sitting down for anything in his first game, especially a 38-3 blowout.
“I think it was as much about the situation that they were in, and him saying it was not acceptable,” Miller said. “This was not gonna be them. He stepped up and said ‘I’m not taking this s***, this ain’t good with me.'”
That follows the line of thinking for James Daniels and the Steelers, too. The Steelers seem to be fully behind Pickett as their future quarterback and that moxie he showcased only added fuel to that fire.