Week 15 will be the first opportunity for quarterback Kenny Pickett to face the team that drafted him, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He isn’t expected to play with Jalen Hurts healthy and starting for the Philadelphia Eagles. But if it were up to some Eagles fans, Pickett would receive the opportunity to start his revenge game versus the Steelers in Week 15.
Pickett was trending on X (formerly Twitter) on December 9 and 10. Most of the tweets addressed the idea of Pickett replacing Hurts in the Philadelphia starting lineup.
“Jalen Hurts is not the answer,” one Eagles fan told reporter Kyle Pagan after Philadelphia’s Week 14 win. “We have a No. 1 defense, running back. Jalen Hurts is not the answer.”
While that fan didn’t mention Pickett, others did on social media.
“Listen to the people and start Kenny Pickett against the Steelers,” a X user tweeted.
Kenny Pickett Set to Face Steelers for First Time
If Pickett was starting for the Eagles or if the Steelers-Eagles showdown was in Pittsburgh on December 15, then the Pickett vs. Steelers storyline would be a bigger deal in the traditional media ahead of Week 15.
But Pickett has only attempted 3 passes this season as Hurts’ backup with the Eagles. Pickett has appeared in three games, all of which came when Philadelphia had a big lead.
Pickett has completed 1 of his 3 passes for 5 yards this season. He’s also taken a sack and rushed for negative-1 yard. Pickett took a knee twice at the end of a game, which is why he has negative rushing yards.
This past offseason, the Steelers traded Pickett to the Eagles five days after signing quarterback Russell Wilson. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported on March 18 the Steelers planned to have Wilson practice with the first-team offense at OTAs. The plan was to then have Pickett compete with Wilson for the starting role the rest of the offseason.
That apparently upset Pickett. Breer wrote that Pickett felt “misled” by Tomlin because the coach told him before the Steelers signed Wilson that there would be an open competition for the job.
Pickett addressed why he wanted out of Pittsburgh during his Eagles introductory press conference.
“I just thought it was time,” Pickett said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “It just felt like it was time from the things that transpired. Wanted to get a chance to go somewhere else and continue to grow my career.”
In Pittsburgh, Pickett would have started in place of Wilson for as many as six games because of Wilson’s calf injury to begin the 2024 season. But hopefully for Pickett’s sake, he’s been able to grow this year without playing time in Philadelphia.
Steelers Fans Jokingly Call for Pickett to Start in Week 15
Steelers fans caught wind of Eagles supporters on X calling for Pickett to start behind center for Philadelphia.
Pittsburgh fans are in favor of the move, but not because they agree that Pickett is better than Hurts.
“Dear Eagles, please, please put Kenny Pickett in against Pittsburgh. He’ll be great. Signed, TJ Watt,” joked a X user.
“I am begging you, please start Kenny Pickett next week,” wrote a Steelers fan.
“Please start Kenny Pickett on Sunday,” tweeted a Pittsburgh native.
In two seasons with the Steelers, Pickett posted a 14-10 record as a starter. But he threw only 13 touchdowns versus 13 interceptions and averaged 6.3 yards per attempt with a 62.4% completion percentage.
Hurts is 11-2 as a starter with 16 touchdown passes with 5 interceptions this season. He’s averaged 8 yards per pass and leads the NFL with 13 rushing touchdowns.
The Eagles will enter their matchup with the Steelers on a nine-game winning streak.
