Kenny Pickett admits he changed protection, George Pickens' route on game-winning TD
It now appears that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett did, in fact, have something to do with the play call which resulted in receiver George Pickens‘s 41-yard game-winning score against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 this past Sunday.
Now technically, the play is something they practiced during the week and was installed by offensive coordinator Matt Canada. But to Pickett’s credit, he sent Pickens on a go route once he identified the Ravens were playing cover zero. All that was left to do was throw a catchable ball Pickens’s way, and that’s exactly what Pickett did.
“It was protection and the route,” Pickett said this week, BehindTheSteelCurtain.com. “You know, they went [cover] zero. I want to make sure we protected and gave George the route. He went and made a great play. It was something we worked all week on… It’s awesome when you put a lot of time into something in a crucial moment like that… You go out there and you do it in a two-minute drill, it’s awesome.”
Kenny Pickett ends speculation of who called game-winning TD vs. Steelers
After the play, Canada was videoed in the booth with not much of a celebration, leading to speculation that Pickett changed the designed play altogether. Now that Pickett has cleared up any and all speculation, the heat is off Canada’s back, who has been on the receiving end of criticism from Steelers fans this season.
Despite picking up a 17-10 victory over the Ravens, fans at Acrisure Stadium still chanted in unison, “Fire Canada.” At the time of the chant, the Steelers were down 10-3, and with the third quarter winding down, had just 124 yards of offense and eight first downs. Pittsburgh hadn’t reached the end zone since the third quarter of the 23-18 Week 3 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Fortunately for Canada and the Steelers, Pickett got it right when it mattered most.
“They went [cover] 0 and we were kind of preparing for it all week,” Pickett said after the game. “In bigger moments, they’ll go 0, and we got the protection right. George ran his route and went up there and won. Big-time player, making plays in those moments, and that’s what we’ve got in [No.] 14.”