It was a challenging campaign for the passing game in a 2023 season that included wide receiver Diontae Johnson missing four games, offensive coordinator Matt Canada being relieved of his duties mid-season and three quarterbacks starting at least two games.
The Steelers ended up 25th in the NFL in passing (at 186.1 yards per game, well below the league average of 218.9), and they never surpassed 300 yards through the air in a game.
But they had their moments.
And when they did, the Steelers were splashy and spectacular.
Following is a look back at five of the most memorable completions in 2023:
1-Mason Rudolph, 86 yards, Dec. 23, Cincinnati:
Probably only Rudolph truly understands what his lightning-in-a-bottle touchdown pass to wide receiver George Pickens meant to Rudolph and to a Steelers' offense that had been struggling but would go on to finish strong down the stretch and help will the Steelers into the postseason.
But the reaction suggested they play meant a great deal, individually and collectively.
Second-and-4 from the Steelers' 14-yard line, the second offensive snap of the first start at quarterback for Rudolph since 2021 and the first in what would become a run of four such assignments. Rudolph accepted a shotgun snap and immediately looked for Pickens, who beat press coverage from cornerback D.J. Turner and ran a slant behind tight end Connor Heyward's out-route. Pickens caught the ball at the 24, eluded safety Dax Hill, who had taken a bad angle, then turned on the Jets and easily outdistanced the Bengals defense all the way to the end zone.
Rudolph head-butted Heyward in celebration. Pickens did the "Nestea Plunge" in the end zone, where he was surrounded by tight end Darnell Washington, Johnson and wide receiver Allen Robinson, tight end Pat Freiermuth, offensive tackle Broderick Jones, center Mason Cole and offensive lineman Spencer Anderson, who had wasted no time getting onto the field for the upcoming extra point.
Rudolph eventually showed up and head-butted Cole.
Jones flexed in the end zone.
And it was pure elation in the stands at Acrisure Stadium.
"You just can't ask for a better start," NBC color analyst Todd Blackledge assessed. "It was a beautiful throw, on time. Pickens did a beautiful job with his route, setting up D.J. Turner, and then just that breakaway speed."
2-Rudolph, 71 yards, Jan. 6, at Baltimore:
The weather was miserable and the Steelers and Ravens were engaged in another classic Steelers-Ravens rock fight. A play needed to be made.
Rudolph made one on the first snap of the fourth quarter, 3rd-and-4 from the Steelers' 29 with the game tied at 7-7. He took a two-step drop after taking a shotgun snap, planted his right foot and fired. Robinson was available at the line to gain but Rudolph was apparently looking for a big play.
He found it by finding Johnson, who had lined up wide-right initially, between safety Marcus Williams and cornerback Rock Ya-Sin at the Steelers' 45. Another on-time, on-target throw and the receiver did the rest, much as Pickens had done against the Bengals.
"The nature of the route, in-breaking routes," Rudolph said. "If you are a good team at running in-breaking routes, typically, if they take a wrong angle then you make people miss and you score. And that's what both of those guys (Johnson and Pickens) did on those two occasions.
"At times we've thrown a lot of out-breakers, and they're safer throws. But sometimes, if the coverage dictates it, those in-breaking routes can really get you big yards after the catch."
3-Kenny Pickett, 41 yards, Oct. 8, Baltimore:
This one probably belongs on the short list of great Steelers plays in the great Steelers-Ravens rivalry, given what was at stake and who was involved in the play.
Second-and-9 from the Baltimore 41, the Steelers trailing, 10-8, and he clock ticking down under 1:30 remaining in regulation. Pickens lined up wide-right opposite cornerback Marlon Humphrey and the Ravens opted for "zero coverage," with eight defenders across the line of scrimmage and all 11 within 5 yards of the ball or closer. Then they blitzed (a six-man pressure).
The Steelers kept Heyward and running back Jaylen Warren in to block, which gave Pickett time to execute a five-step drop and then let it fly. As it turned out, Pickett couldn't have run down the field and handed the ball to Pickens any better. Pickens caught Pickett's perfectly-placed throw at the Ravens' 12 on the way to the end zone.
"What did Kenny Pickett tell us in our (production) meeting?" CBS color analyst Charles Davis gushed. "'If I see No. 14 matched up 1-on-1, he gets the football.' And how about Pittsburgh, with the confidence in their second-year quarterback, in a situation like that where you're lining up the field goal, to take the shot downfield, and he gets it done.
"The kid is a gamer late in contests."
4-Pickett, 71 yards, Sept. 18, Cleveland:
Stand and deliver. On first-and-10 from the Steelers' 29 with 6:16 left in the second quarter, Pickett eventually decided to take a shot. He ultimately had to take a shot in order to take the shot he intended.
Pickens lined up wide-right in a three-wide receivers set opposite cornerback Denzel Ward, who backed off from press coverage just before the snap. Pickett faked a handoff to Warren, dropped back into the pocket, looked left initially for Johnson, then over the middle for Freiermuth and eventually found Pickens breaking from outside the numbers toward the right hash marks. Pickett delivered just before being blasted and planted by Browns defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson.
Pickens caught the ball at the Steelers' 44 with plenty of room between himself and Ward, who had baked off, apparently expecting a deep route. Pickens then put a move on cornerback Martin Emerson, who had come off wide receiver Calvin Austin III in an effort to limit the damage, and navigated a diving attempt at a tackle. Austin stayed with the play, as well, and made sure Ward couldn't catch up and become a factor.
Pickens extended the ball for emphasis at the Browns' 14 on what became an uncontested jaunt into the end zone.
"You can see Pickett going through his progression," ESPN color analyst Troy Aikman explained, "and almost doesn't get out to George Pickens because of Tomlinson with the pressure right inside."
5-Pickett, 72 yards, Sept. 24, at Las Vegas
"Backs-on-'Backers" applied to an in-game setting. Third-and-7 from the Steelers' 28, 6;21 left in the first quarter. Austin was positioned in the right slot in a three-wide receivers set. The Raiders opted for a single-high safety set and ultimately unleashed a six-man blitz.
Austin beat cornerback Marcus Peters with an inside release off the line of scrimmage and headed up the seam. Defensive end Maxx Crosby looped from the right edge of the defensive formation and tried to rush up the middle. That's where he ran into Warren. That's where Crosby stopped.
Austin ran under another perfectly-thrown pass by Pickett at the Raiders' 35. Marcus Epps, the single-high safety at the snap, wasn't a factor because he had been shading over to Pickens initially, who had lined up wide-left.
The throw and catch combined to make for a spectacular catch-and-run touchdown.
But NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth was most impressed with the protection.
"Maxx Crosby is going to loop back inside," he explained, dissecting the replay. "Here's the key to the play, Jaylen Warren, 5-foot-8, comes up and stones the rushing Crosby and sets up the bomb, they pick it up perfectly. That was nice.
"That is a 5-foot-8 man taking out one of the best pass rushers in the entirety of the National Football League. And yeah, and they're happy about Calvin Austin and the touchdown but Jaylen Warren is the man."
