Kenny Pickett addresses offensive woes, says Steelers ‘clearly’ do not have an identity

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-1 through two weeks of the 2023 NFL season and while the team was able to come away with a win in Week 2, the offense still is not where it wants it to be. The team’s 26-22 win against the Cleveland Browns on Monday night was mostly thanks to the team’s defense, which recorded two touchdowns.

Their first game of the season saw a 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which is not exactly the strong start quarterback Kenny Pickett and crew were hoping for.

The quarterback, who has more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2) so far, said the team is having identity issues. 

“We’ve got to find [an identity],” Pickett said (via the team’s official website). “Clearly, we don’t have one,” 

He noted that they have to work together, because the team is only as strong as its biggest mistake. 

“It’s a team game, the ultimate team game. One guy does something wrong on a play as an offense, it usually doesn’t go your way. So, we’ve got to stay together. Don’t let the popcorn effect happen, which is one guy on each play,” the 25-year-old said.

Mistakes have been an overarching theme for the offense so far and while Pickett admits “there’s good plays and there’s bad plays,” they want to work on minimizing those negative moments, the ones upsetting both the team and the fans. 

“There’s just too much bad popping up that we have to get off tape,” the second-year quarterback said. “The attitude is going to be there. People are frustrated. Nobody likes to be playing like that. From a fanbase standpoint, a player standpoint, nobody wants that offense out there that we’re putting out right now. We know we have to be better. We’re going to keep pushing for that.”

Even with the frustrations, morale is high in the Steelers locker room, according to their offensive leader.

“[Belief in myself and my teammates is} Still high. Absolutely,” Pickett said. “I see these guys work. I know what we can do. When you watch the tape, you see things that aren’t us. We want to be perfect out there. You’re never going to be perfect, but that’s what you’re pushing for.”

He mentioned that they “have the pieces to be balanced,” saying once they are able to be balanced they will be the offense they want to be.

While a 1-1 start is not ideal, they are far from ready to completely rewrite the script. Pickett says staying together and improving are two of the main goals.

Pickett has seen the Steelers offense be at the level he is looking to achieve this season. The unit finished the 2022 season winning five of their last six games. 

“I just want to get back to playing offense the way we know we can play it, running the football, having the play-action of it, getting the guys the ball downfield. It just seems we’re missing an element of that in the two times we’ve been out,” he said.

The team certainly is not there yet, with the sixth worst completion percentage (60.5), the second worst total yards per game (247), the sixth worst yards per carry (3.1) and the second worst total rushing yards (96).