Kenny Pickett Breaks Ben Roethlisberger’s Steelers Record

Despite having his most efficient performance of the year on Sunday in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 16-1o win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Kenny Pickett had no touchdown passes for the third straight game. Granted, he should have had a touchdown pass against Cincinnati but Diontae Johnson failed to haul in the catch.

Pickett has thrown just one touchdown pass in the last six games, but he’s also protecting the ball at an alarming rate. He hasn’t thrown an interception in 208 straight passing attempts, surpassing Ben Roethlisberger for the franchise record, according to the CBS broadcast. The last time Pickett was picked off was in the Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans.

Kenny Pickett also hasn’t lost a fumble, so he’s gone seven straight games without a single turnover. There isn’t a single quarterback with a longer streak since 2018 (Aaron Rodgers, 8), per NFL on CBS.

There have been a few times during the seven-game stretch that Pickett should have been picked off, but overall, he’s been really good in his decision-making. The Steelers’ offense was very conservative under former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, as well. There was little risk involved, which held Pickett back ultimately. Pickett avoided the middle of the field and didn’t take a lot of deep shots. That changed on Sunday with Canada no longer employed by the Steelers and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan calling the plays.

Pickett attacked the middle of the field and had two impressive completions down the seam to Pat Freiermuth for 24 and 29 yards. He also had two completions on the outside for explosive plays, a 39-yarder to Johnson and a 43-yarder to George Pickens.

For the first time in 58 regular-season games, the Steelers eclipsed 400 yards of offense. That goes the entire tenure of Canada’s stay as offensive coordinator. Pickett looked a lot more loose under the Sullivan/Faulkner regime. It was his best game this year and arguably the best of his career. He completed 72.7% of his passes for 278 yards and had a 97.8 quarterback rating. If Johnson caught the touchdown passes, Pickett’s rating would have shot up well over 100.