Kenny Pickett nearly perfect in Steelers preseason game vs Buccaneers

I don't think fans could have asked for anything more than what we witnessed from Kenny Pickett in the Steelers' preseason opener against the Buccaneers. There were some excruciating weather conditions in Tampa Bay, and the real feel in the field was 107 degrees prior to kickoff. This didn't seem to matter one bit.

The Buccaneers got the ball to begin the game. After a quick three-and-out, Pickett and the Steelers' offense took over... and there was no looking back.

One play after the next, Pickett marched his offense down the field, looking cool, calm, and collected. He showed excellent pocket awareness and delivered accurate balls on the run. This eventually resulted in a 10-play, 83-yard drive that was capped off with a 33-yard touchdown pass on a dart to George Pickens.

Pickett only played one series in this game, before Mike Tomlin had seen enough. What he did with his 10 plays was as good as anyone could have hoped for to begin his second preseason.

Pickett was remarkably accurate and poise in the pocket. His lone incompletion came after he made a nice effort to extend the play and elude the pressure, but he was hit as he delivered the football. On his final play of the game to Pickens, Pickett threaded the needle as he rifled the ball over the middle fo the field just outside the outstretched hand of the defender.

Pickett explodes for Steelers in first preseason game

Pickett finished the game completing 6 of 7 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, per ESPN stats. His 10.0 yards per attempt was phenomenal and his play matched his impressive 147,9 passer rating.

Obviously, this is a very small sample size, and it came against a team that was missing a lot of football players in the preseason opener. Still, we don't want to take away from the confidence and precision that Pickett showed in this contest. He was legitimately good.

The second-year quarterback and former first-round pick will look to carry this outstanding momentum into next week's home game against the Buffalo Bills. Whether you are a believer in Kenny Pickett or not, Pittsburgh Steelers fans should be thrilled with his short but impressive performance against the Buccaneers in Week 1 of the 2023 preseason.