Mark Madden: After Pyrrhic victory, what’s next for Steelers’ George Pickens, Mike Tomlin, QBs?
Saturday’s home win vs. Cincinnati might be the proverbial Pyrrhic victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was fun, but what was gained? And at what cost?
Wideout George Pickens quit on a play the week before, then was decidedly non-apologetic. His punishment? Nothing.
So, Pickens went out against the Bengals and grabbed four balls for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
That means prior transgressions were no big deal. You can bet on recidivism. It’s called enabling.
It’s straight out of the Steelers’ playbook with Antonio Brown. Brown got lots of stats but didn’t get the Steelers many big wins, and his negative effect on the team’s culture still resonates. Via Pickens, for example. The stupidest, loudest and most selfish are front and center.
But the Steelers have nobody to confront Pickens. No discipline from the coaches, no peer pressure from the so-called “leaders.” So, here we go again.
That win puts the Steelers at 8-7. Coach Mike Tomlin got praised by the clueless, agenda-serving national media for rallying the Steelers after three straight losses, acting as if Tomlin had no role in those defeats. Those included consecutive home losses to 2-10 teams.
It’s reported that the Steelers are likely to extend Tomlin’s contract beyond next season. Finishing 10-7 or 9-8 to preserve Tomlin’s streak of no losing seasons would feed into that. It would also keep the Steelers in the mushy middle, which is difficult to escape. Finish middle, draft middle, stay middle.
But, still, great job by Tomlin on Saturday. It took him 16 weeks to start his best quarterback. But better late than never.
Speaking of quarterback…
Mason Rudolph absolutely should start Sunday at Seattle.
Rudolph’s game against the Bengals was arguably better than any game Kenny Pickett has ever played at the NFL level: 17 for 27, 290 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions.
Rudolph threw the ball accurately and deep. He led receivers into yards after catch, a foreign concept with Pickett at quarterback. Rudolph made good reads, had pocket presence and was willing to take a hit to make a throw.
You can cite the informal policy that a starter shouldn’t lose his job because he’s hurt. You could also argue that Pickett never earned the job in the first place.
The happy medium: Pickett’s bum ankle hasn’t quite healed. (That doesn’t need to be true.) So, the Steelers start Rudolph.
Pickett stinks. He’s a wasted first-round draft pick. He’s made 24 career starts and proved nothing outside of a few timely drives.
In those 24 starts, Pickett has thrown two touchdowns in a game once. In 11 career starts, Rudolph has done it six times. He did it inside of 36 minutes this past Saturday.
Everything Pickett hasn’t been able to do, Rudolph did vs. Cincinnati.
Can Rudolph keep it up? Maybe not.
Can Pickett come back in and play as well at Seattle as Rudolph did against the Bengals? Almost certainly not. (Pickett never has.)
Rudolph seems by far the better bet. He’s the hot hand. They were chanting his name at Acrisure Stadium, for heck’s sake.
The Steelers/Tomlin method has always been to never think beyond winning the next game. You’d have to be insane to believe that Rudolph doesn’t give the Steelers the best chance to do that. Starting Pickett contradicts the usual philosophy. But it enables the Steelers to be right about Pickett, however temporarily.
Starting Pickett might raise eyebrows in the locker room, not least Pickens’. If Pickett loses at Seattle, the reaction could go beyond eyebrows.
You don’t need to learn anything about Pickett in these last two games, especially when next season brings a new offensive coordinator and whatever he installs. It might be more useful to finally find out what you’ve got (or don’t) in Rudolph.
Recent evidence suggests Rudolph is better than Pickett. If it’s a small sample, it’s also a vivid one.
