4 burning questions Steelers desperately need to answer in Week 8 vs. Jaguars

4. Can Kenny Pickett finally break out?

How about that second-year leap? The offseason was filled with rumors of the potential that Pickett was showing. He had a strong second half of the season a year ago and was in a much-improved offense on paper. A nearly perfect preseason had many wondering just how good would Pickett be in year two.

And then the regular season happened, and everything fell apart from there. Gone was the cerebral quarterback of the preseason reading plays and throwing with sharp accuracy. In his place was a worse version of his rookie self, bailing out of the pocket constantly, failing to progress through reads, and struggling with his accuracy.

Things have gotten slightly better as the season has gone on, but Pickett still doesn’t look like a great player right now. He needs a real breakout game where he can showcase the talent that he has and look like a real franchise option. Considering how bad the Jaguars passing defense has been, this could be that week.

While the focus should still be on the run game, Pickett also needs to make some more impact in the passing game. He has a beatable defense that is one of the worst in terms of total passing yards given up, so this is his time to shine. Pickett needs to look better this week and have a strong outing.

The Steelers want to keep their winning ways alive, but it won’t be easy this week against the Jaguars. That said, this is a beatable team, and Pittsburgh showed last week that they can hang around. If they want to win though, they will have to answer these four questions.