Pittsburgh starting quarterback Kenny Pickett underwent ankle surgery this morning to accelerate the healing process in hopes of returning later this year. The second-year signal caller will miss multiple games.
Pickett left yesterday’s 24-10 home loss to Arizona late in the second quarter and didn’t return. Before going down, he had completed 7-of-10 passes for 70 yards.
In 12 games this season, Pickett has connected on 201-of-324 throws (62.0%) for 2,070 yards with a 6/4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He has 54 rushing yards and one TD.
In 13 games as a rookie last year, Pickett completed 63.0 percent of his passes for 2,404 yards with a 7/9 TD-INT ratio. He made more plays with his legs in 2022, producing 237 rushing yards, three TDs and a 4.3 yards-per-carry average.
In the second half of yesterday’s loss to the Cardinals, Pittsburgh QB Mitch Trubisky completed 11-of-17 passes for 117 yards and one TD without an interception. In three games this season, Trubisky has completed 29-of-49 throws (59.2%) for 273 yards with a 2/2 TD-INT ratio.
In his first year with the Steelers in 2022, Trubisky completed 117-of-180 passes (65.0%) for 1,252 yards with a 4/5 TD-INT ratio. For his career, Trubisky has a 70/45 TD-INT ratio in seven seasons.
Pittsburgh (7-5 straight up, 7-5 against the spread) is in a second-place tie with Cleveland in the AFC North standings. Both teams are two games back of the Ravens for the division lead.
If the season ended today, the Steelers would be in the playoffs. They’re in fifth place in the AFC.
As of Monday afternoon, most books had Pittsburgh installed as a six-point favorite for Thursday’s home game vs. New England. The total was 30 points, while the Patriots were +215 on the money line.