Steelers Daily Links: Pickett in Elite Company, Road Tickets Still in High Demand

Kenny Pickett is in some elite company and fans are still gobbling up Steelers road game tickets despite the rocky start.

 Kenny Pickett will be the third first-round rookie quarterback to start for the Steelers in the Super Bowl era — joining Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger, who combined for all six of the Steelers Lombardi Trophies. In his first career start in 1970 against the Houston Oilers, Terry Bradshaw completed just four of 16 passes (25%) for 70 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, and a quarterback rating of 19.3. The Steelers lost to the Oilers, 19-7. Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a 13-3 win over the Miami Dolphins in his first career start in 2004. While playing in the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne, Roethlisberger completed 12 of 22 passes (54.4%) for 163 yards with one touchdown, one interception, and a quarterback rating of 74.6.

 The Steelers are 25-10 (.714) in the regular season when starting a rookie quarterback since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. The .714 regular-season winning percentage is the highest in the NFL over the span.

 George Pickens is the sixth player (fifth wideout) in Steelers history that registered a 100-yard receiving game prior to Week 5 of his rookie season. The last receiver to do so was Mike Wallace in 2009.

 NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger was impressed with what he saw from Kenny Pickett against the New York Jets. “It’s a small sample size, but in his 13 second-half attempts, he gives his receivers a chance…down the field,” Baldinger said in a video breakdown. “He sees it quickly and throws it quickly. Lots to like and build upon.”

 Penn State head football coach James Franklin discussed the importance of knowing players of Penn State’s past like Jack Ham. “We have a tradition where every Thursday, he meets me out here and we get a walk in before practice. He’s been great,” Franklin said of the former Penn State and Steelers linebacker.

 Alex Highsmith, Kevin Dotson and Pressley Harvin III participated in a roundtable conversation with students on exhibiting positive behavior in and out of school. Highsmith, Dotson and Highsmith are members of the Steelers’ social justice committee.

 Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports doesn’t think Mike Tomlin is on the hot seat, but he does think he’s under fire, albeit safe for now. “His stubborn commitment to Matt Canada at offensive coordinator — or an old-school philosophy in general — may spoil parts of Kenny Pickett’s rookie season,” Benjamin said of Tomlin. “A quarter of the year is already gone to the Mitch Trubisky experiment. And they probably should’ve went all in on the rebuild. But 15 years of steady leadership buys you lots of time.”

 According to a study by FinanceBuzz, the Steelers have the fourth-highest average road game ticket on the resale market in the NFL at $262.12. The Steelers’ average home game ticket was the ninth-highest at $248.13. The Las Vegas Raiders had the highest average ticket price for home games last season: $501.84 per ticket. The Houston Texans had the lowest at just $82.25. The Dallas Cowboys had the highest road ticket prices in the NFL. The average resale ticket price when the Cowboys visited was $319 last season — more than $100 over the league average of $203.14.

 The cheapest price available via StubHub for two tickets to this Sunday’s game at Highmark Stadium against the Buffalo Bills is $166 each. The cheapest lower bowl tickets are $270 each.

STEELERS SCHEDULE

 The Steelers will open their locker room at 10:45 a.m., when Kenny Pickett is expected to speak. Practice starts at 12:15 p.m. — Alan Saunders, Ed Thompson

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