O.J. Simpson Says Steelers Should Start Kenny Pickett
After another lackluster performance by the Steelers’ offense in Thursday night’s loss to the Browns, O.J. Simpson is calling for Kenny Pickett to start. Yes, “The Juice” has even chimed in on the Steelers’ offensive struggles.
“I don’t see these guys being inspired by their quarterback play,” https://twitter.com/TheRealOJ32/status/1573358116485332992″>Simpson
said in a video on Twitter. “I don’t know what Kenny Pickett is able to do, but I’m willing to bet anybody that he’ll score more than four touchdowns over the next three games. Because they’ve only scored four touchdowns in the first three games, and that’s not going to get it (done), especially without T.J. Watt helping in that defense.”
It’s been evident that the Steelers are missing T.J. Watt’s presence, as the defense has recorded just two sacks in the last two games and has struggled against the run. The Steelers are 0-6 without Watt since he was drafted in 2017.
“I just didn’t realize how devastating the loss of T.J. Watt would have on this Pittsburgh football team,” Simpson said. “The problem is, Pittsburgh’s not going to win any 14-10 games. They’re going to have to score points to win. And I just don’t see that happening with Trubisky. Now, I got to admit, he wasn’t that bad last night, but that shouldn’t be the criteria. Your quarterback should be the guy that inspires you.”
Simpson also critiqued the Steelers’ wide receivers. Simpson isn’t the only one who has noticed poor play from the receivers, as former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley claimed on 93.7 The Fan earlier this week that the receivers have been “sloppy.”
“I saw the body language of those receivers last night, and it just wasn’t good,” Simpson said. “Especially Diontae Johnson, albeit he probably should have caught what I thought was Trubisky’s best pass last night.”
With the Steelers trailing 16-14 late in the third quarter, Johnson failed to haul in a deep pass from Trubisky on third-and-3. The Browns responded with a 11-play, 80-yard drive that got capped by a Nick Chubb 1-yard touchdown run to put Cleveland up 23-14. The drive took 6:35 off the clock and pretty much sealed the game. While it might have not changed the outcome of the game, Johnson’s drop was certainly a big missed opportunity.
Trubisky completed 20 of 32 passes (62.5%) for 207 yards with no touchdowns, no interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 81.1. As Simpson mentioned, Trubisky wasn’t terrible against the Browns, but he’s thrown just two touchdown passes for 569 yards in three games. He’s been mediocre at best. While the Steelers won’t turn into “The Greatest Show on Turf” over night, Pickett could provide a spark for the offense.
Read This Next
