Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is no longer surprised when he sees quarterback Kenny Pickett put on the Superman cape in the fourth quarter of games.
He's seen it long enough to know that Pickett has an innate ability to up his performance in the game's most weighty moments, including in last Sunday's 24-17 win over the Rams at SoFi Stadium that left the Steelers at 4-2.
In fact, it goes back to Tomlin's days of watching Pickett perform at the University of Pittsburgh.
"His ability to rise up in moments, we valued that in the draft process," Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
"That was one of the things that made him attractive to us. I've watched him do it when he was a Pitt Panther. And so I don't know that any of us are surprised by his ability to make the plays that he makes when it really gets thick. I just think some people are built like that. Some people relish the opportunity. Some people really smile in the face of adversity. Some people are competition junkies and I think he's all of those things, but that's not something that we're just discovering. As I mentioned, it's something that we knew."
Pickett completed his final nine passes against the Rams as the Steelers rallied from a 17-10 deficit against the Rams, something that should be familiar to Steelers fans.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a similar mentality, which led to Roethlisberger posting 41 fourth quarter comebacks in his 18-year career, which ranks third on the NFL's all-time list.
Now in his second season, Pickett isn't anywhere near that level. But he does have five fourth quarter comebacks in his 18 career starts, meaning he has manufactured a fourth quarter comeback in 28 percent of his career starts. Roethlisberger did it in just under 17 percent of his 247 career starts.
Roethlisberger used to joke when asked about his ability to bring his team back that it meant he had played poorly in the first three quarters to put the team in that position.
With Pickett, that joke might ring somewhat true.
This season, Pickett is completing 56.2 percent of his passes with one touchdown and three interceptions and a passer rating of 45.8 in the first quarter of the Steelers' games. In the fourth quarter, his numbers soar to a 73 percent completion percentage for 374 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but a passer rating of 102.8.
Some have attributed Pickett's lack of success early in games to the Steelers' scripting of plays heading into a game. But his effectiveness later in games might at least be partially as a result of the script.
While the Steelers are trying to score off the plays on their script, they also use the script to learn things about the opposing defense.
"We're not completely married to the script. Because some things are sight unseen, like some of the third-down things that the Rams defense was doing in the first half, for example," Tomlin said. "So there's a script we're not completely married to it. … Sometimes it's information gathering. Sometimes it's personnel exchanges, to see how they match personnel or logistically how they deal with personnel exchanges, who's matching up with who, what are good matchups. What are they doing versus certain approaches to football. And so there are many agendas that you're trying to get done in the early stages of the game from a scripting perspective."
Once those opposing adjustments are figured out, the coaching staff can then figure out what adjustments it wants to make or what matchups it wants to create to take advantage of situations.
And that plays a part in some of Pickett's late game heroics.
The Steelers would like to score more earlier in games. But they also know they have late-game Pickett on which to fall back when things don't work according to plan.
"We're going to continually work for more fluid and productive starts," said of Pickett's strong finishes. "But that's a component of it. That's not new."
Cleaning up the penalties: One of the least penalized teams in the NFL this season, the Steelers had a season-high eight in their win over the Rams.
Included in those was outside linebacker T.J. Watt being called for lining up in the neutral zone and unsportsmanlike calls that went against wide receivers George Pickens and Diontae Johnson late in the game.
Tomlin said those mistakes came down to not being aware of the things that referee Craig Wrolstad's crew, which worked the game, would call and how much leeway the crew gives players.
"It's our job to feel the tenor of a crew and adjust our behavior accordingly," Tomlin said. "And we got into that game and that crew had a certain tenor and we didn't adjust to it. And as professionals, that's our job. So, am I worried about those issues being an issue moving forward? No, I'm not. But it is a great opportunity to talk about learning the tenor of a crew. Sometimes, certain crews are more tolerant regarding certain things than others. And that's just the realities of the National Football League. T.J., for example, got a penalty for lining up in a neutral zone in a significant time and the second half of that game on a third-down possession, possession down that we won. A lot of crews will warn you when someone's lined up in the neutral zone or cutting it close from that perspective. Some don't. It's our job to get a sense of how the game was being played that day."
Injury update: Linebacker Cole Holcomb left Sunday's game briefly with an ankle injury but returned and recorded eight tackles, including one for a loss.
Tomlin said Holcomb could be slowed early in the week in terms of practice participation, but should be OK.
The Steelers have two weeks remaining in the practice window to decide whether to activate running back Anthony McFarland from the Reserve/Injured List as he comes back from a hamstring injury.
Tomlin also was asked about the status of defensive lineman Cam Heyward. Heyward has been on the Reserve/Injured List since suffering a groin injury in the team's Week 1 loss to the 49ers but has not had his practice window opened to this point. But Tomlin declined to update Heyward's status at this point.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
Hall of Honor: The Steelers will induct four new members into their Hall of Honor at Sunday's game at Acrisure Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars as former offensive linemen Gerry "Moon" Mullins and Ray Mansfield, defensive end Aaron Smith and outside linebacker James Harrison will be the latest to receive that honor.
Tomlin coached both Smith and Harrison.
"It's an exciting week for us. (It's) great to be back home and access your stadium this weekend versus a really good football team also, that's really great because we have some Hall of Honor inductees this weekend," Tomlin said. "Moon Mullins and Ray Mansfield, Steeler legends, and a couple of guys that played for me, Aaron Smith and James Harrison. They're really excited about bringing those guys in to their rightful place this weekend and honoring them."
