If there’s one thing that stands out when looking at Kenny Pickett’s stats from the first half of the season, it’s his turnovers.
The Steelers’ rookie quarterback has thrown eight interceptions to just two touchdowns. He’s also fumbled three times, losing one.
So as Pickett returns from Pittsburgh’s bye to play the Saints in Week 10, reducing giveaways is a focus.
“I’ve got to protect the ball more. Absolutely,” Pickett said in his Wednesday press conference. “I’m not throwing picks where I’m not seeing the coverage — I see what’s going on, whether it’s a tipped ball or there were a few that they got me on. But I’m processing it, I’m going to the sideline, and I know exactly what happened and why it went there.
“So, there are things that I can build on, but the bottom line is that I’ve got to protect the football, so that’s something that, in this back half of the season, needs to be a focus for me.”
The 20th overall pick of this year’s draft, Pickett has completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 962 yards in five appearances with four starts. His passer rating is 66.8.