The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-17 Sunday in Week 7, and the victory improved their record to 4-2 on the season. If you are like many fans of the Steelers, you are wondering just how the team got to this point?

How are they 4-2, but more importantly, how has the offense struggled as much as it has?

Sure, plenty of blame can be centered around the offensive play calling, but let’s also not forget the fact the Steelers signal caller has been sub-par for the majority of the season. In fact, you can look at Kenny Pickett’s play in the first half of most games and see just how bad things look.

Then the second half happens.

What happens at halftime? Are there sweeping adjustments made? Does the pass protection improve to the point where Pickett is comfortable? Or maybe it’s just a will to win by a quarterback who is oozing with “moxie”, as people call it.

Nonetheless, when you look at the Steelers quarterback from a half-by-half perspective, you can see just how night-and-day the numbers are for Pickett from the first half to the second half.

This per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

TALE OF TWO QBS: Kenny Pickett is completing 55 percent of his passes for 320 yards and passer rating of 65.97 in first half. He completes 68.8% for 749 yards and rating of 96.9 in 2nd half.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) October 23, 2023

The tale of two quarterbacks, as Dulac put it, is evident. The question now is whether or not the Steelers can find a way to get the second half Kenny Pickett to be the full game Kenny Pickett.

Pickett’s numbers aren’t pretty, but when you throw in the number of 4th quarter comebacks (5) and game-winning drives (6) in 18 career starters, you can’t ignore the clutch factor when talking about the Steelers quarterback.

The fact the Steelers are winning games while playing this poorly at times is amazing, but could also provide some hope for the future. Just minimal changes which lead to success can be a huge boost for the team desperately searching for an identity. The identity they are looking for can’t be 4th quarter comebacks and game-winning drives on a week-to-week basis; however, getting 2nd half Kenny Pickett on a more regular basis absolutely can be the ticket to success.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8 at home.