4 concerning takeaways from the Steelers disheartening loss vs. Jaguars

1. Kenny Pickett doesn't look like the answer

This might come as a bombshell to some of you, but I genuinely don't believe that Kenny Pickett is going to be the long-term answer for this team. I know not everything is his fault. He's dealing with an incompetent offensive coordinator, a shaky offensive line, and plays that aren't designed to aid the quarterback.

Despite all of this, it's safe to say that we should have seen more by now. It took Pickett 17 games to earn at least 2 passing touchdowns in the same contest. In comparison, rookie QB Will Levis earned 4 touchdown passes in his first-ever NFL start in Week 8 (and he's also on a bad offense).

If Pickett is going to be the guy that goes toe-to-toe with the cream of the crop in the AFC like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow, then we should have seen far more from him in his first 20 games of his NFL career. Instead, this seems to be very similar to the path that former second-overall pick Zach Wilson was on prior to being benched by the Jets halfway through his second year.

Before exiting the contest just before halftime, Pickett managed a dismal 4.6 yards per pass attempt. Excluding this game, the second-year QB had just 6.4 adjusted yards per attempt on the season, and his EPA was among the worst in the league.

Quite frankly, Pickett has not shown enough to increase the maximum upside of the offense, and the Steelers need to start thinking long and hard about the future of the quarterback position in Pittsburgh.