Dec 2, 2022 5 min read

Is Kenny Pickett figuring things out?

That certainly appears to be the case for the Steelers rookie quarterback.

Over his past three games, a span of 100 passes, Pickett hasn’t thrown an interception. It’s no coincidence the Steelers have won two of those games.

It’s also noteworthy that Pickett has averaged only 33 passes per game in that stretch because the Steelers ran the ball so effectively. That ability to run the ball was a big reason why, in Pittsburgh’s 24-17 win over Indianapolis on Monday, the Steelers had no doubt they were going to score after Indianapolis went ahead 17-16 late in the third quarter.

“We knew we could. That came from us being able to run the ball,” said guard Kevin Dotson. “We knew if we could run the ball, we could win the game. We didn’t get rattled when it happened. We cut our eyelids off, like Coach (Mike Tomlin) says. In that situation, you’ve got to keep going.”

The Steelers had 172 rushing yards against the Colts, who entered the game with a defense that had been allowing 3.7 yards per carry.

If they can run the ball effectively against the Colts, then they should be able to do it against anyone.

And that will only help Pickett continue to thrive.

He’s getting better. With a win Sunday over the Falcons, he would improve to 4-4 as a starter.

That bodes well for 2023.

• A big part of the Steelers’ resurgence – modest as it is – is the offensive line play.

Considered to be the biggest question mark coming into the season, the offensive line has played far better than anyone could have imagined.

That bodes well for 2023, as well, considering all five starters are under contract for next season.

Could the Steelers add to it? Certainly. You can never have enough good offensive linemen.

But it doesn’t appear to be the necessity it did at the start of the season.

• It’s amazing how little $6.75 million will get you these days in Major League Baseball. That’s reportedly the salary the Pirates promised to free agent first baseman Carlos Santana when they signed him last week.

The 37-year-old Santana batted .201 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI last season in stints with Kansas City and Seattle.

Santana is a solid defensive player, and he draws a lot of walks, but he hasn’t batted better than .214 in any of the past three seasons. And at his age, it’s unlikely he’s going to suddenly correct that, even with Major League Baseball banning the shifts that helped cause that lower batting average.

Maybe it will work out. Perhaps Santana will benefit from defensive shifts being banned and hit closer to his .242 career batting average, but that’s doubtful.

And even if he does, the Pirates will likely move him at the trade deadline.

This week’s games

Steelers (plus 1) at Falcons: The Steelers won two of their past three games and look like they’ve figured things out on offense. The Falcons can’t do anything offensively except run the ball. And their defense is awful. Playing on a short week will be tough for the Steelers, but … Take the Steelers, 24-14

Browns (minus 7) at Texans: Deshaun Watson makes his debut for the Browns in the city where he began his NFL career. Texans fans will show up just to boo their former star quarterback. Even so, the Texans are terrible in every facet of the game. And they’re on pace to allow over 3,000 rushing yards. Take the Browns, 31-10

Broncos (plus 8) at Ravens: The Ravens’ biggest issue is not being able to close out games because their secondary, which was supposed to be a strength, is terrible. They’ve blown three double-digit leads in the fourth quarter. But Denver can’t throw the ball effectively. Denver’s defense, though, is solid. Take the Broncos to cover in a 20-13 loss

Chiefs (minus 1½) at Bengals: The Bengals knocked off the Chiefs twice last season on their way to the Super Bowl. Kansas City will be looking for some payback. Joe Burrow is playing well, but Patrick Mahomes is playing better. Take the Chiefs, 34-30

Jets (plus 3) at Vikings: Mike White replaced Zach Wilson and had a big game last week. But that was against the Bears, who are terrible defensively. The Vikings will offer way more resistance. And their offense is better. Take the Vikings, 24-20

Last Week: 3-2 ATS; 2-3 straight up.

Overall: 27-29-4 ATS; 37-23 straight up.