After years of relying on Ben Roethlisberger to anchor the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, Mike Tomlin is now facing a quarterback dilemma for the first time in his head coaching career.
Tomlin decided to bench Mitchell Trubisky during the Steelers’ Week 4 home loss to the New York Jets. Trubisky was quite inefficient in throwing the football in the first half, finishing with 84 passing yards, one interception thrown, and a 41.8 passer rating.
Tomlin then elected to hand the keys to the offense over to Kenny Pickett for the second half. The rookie quarterback scored two rushing touchdowns and threw a trio of interceptions during his time on the field.
After the game, Tomlin opted not to announce who will start at quarterback in the Steelers’ road contest against the Buffalo Bills next week. But in the case that Pickett gets the starting nod for the game, he will have the full support of Diontae Johnson, who was left impressed by the rookie’s NFL debut.
“Well, we were moving the ball, but I felt like when he came in, we were more efficient and you could see it in his energy,” Johnson said in his post-game press conference. “He played with swag. You could see it. That makes us want to play for him, too.
“We have to continue to get him better and prepare for next week and get this W.”
Pickett targeted Johnson twice in the second half, and the versatile wideout hauled in two receptions for 11 receiving yards.
Tomlin sure will have plenty of time from now until Week 5 to decide on who between Trubisky and Pickett should earn the start against the Bills.
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