Kenny Pickett is putting a poor performance against the San Francisco 49ers behind him and moving forward.
It's the way things have to be in the NFL. The Steelers' quarterback knows he didn't play his best game in a 30-7 loss to the 49ers last Sunday. But all he can do about that now is perform better in the next game, that coming Monday night against the Cleveland Browns.
"We didn't play nearly as well as we've been playing or how know we can play. So it is what it is," Pickett said of a slow start against San Francisco that doomed the Steelers. "It's 24-Hour Rule. Same as if you win. You can't celebrate too long. You can't dwell on the loss too long and let it beat you twice. So that's the main takeaway."
With that in mind, Pickett is intent on getting off to a faster start against the Browns (1-0) than he did last week.
The Steelers (0-1) failed to pick up a first down on their first five possessions against the 49ers, four via three-and-outs and one due to an interception as they fell behind 20-0.
Pickett missed open receivers on a couple of his first few third-down throws. And once that happened, coupled with the excellent field position the 49ers gained from the Steelers offense's lack of success, the game got away from script quickly.
"A couple back early on, especially I think it's a different game," Pickett said when asked if he'd like to have some throws he didn't complete back. "We had some early on to put points up and just kind of keep the pressure going back and forth. But I need to definitely be a lot better. We as an offense need to be better."
Once the Steelers fell behind, Pickett was under consistent pressure.
Because of that, the Steelers ran the ball just 10 times, the lowest total in the NFL in Week 1.
But even when they ran the ball early in the game, the Steelers gained just two yards on their first four rushing attempts.
It wasn't until Najee Harris broke off a 24-yard run on third-and-1 late in the half that the Steelers produced anything of note on the ground.
"We didn't have much of it," Pickett said of a running game. "Early on we got behind and we were trying to play catch up. That goes back to us as being successful on early downs, staying out third-and-longs and playing on-time with the football."
Pickett wound up completing 31-of-46 passes for 232 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was sacked five times, with three of those coming on the Steelers' final possession.
It was his first two-interception game since Week 7 of last season against the Dolphins when he was picked off three times. Pickett threw just two more interceptions the remainder of the season.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
