Ben Roethlisberger aside, Kenny Pickett holds own against Steelers QB predecessors at start of career

When the Pittsburgh Steelers return from their bye and face the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday, quarterback Kenny Pickett will make his 18th career start.

That’s one more than what constitutes an NFL season, which was expanded in 2021.

Given that mile marker in Pickett’s nascent career, it seemed like a good time to compare the equivalent of his 17 starts for the Steelers to some of his noteworthy predecessors.

Ben Roethlisberger, of course, sets the bar for starts to a Steelers career. He set an NFL record in 2004 by going 13-0 as a starter. Dak Prescott matched those 13 wins in 2016 for the Dallas Cowboys, but he started all 16 games that season.

Roethlisberger’s record-setting start was so impressive that he doubled the previous Steelers record. In 1976, backup quarterback Mike Kruczek went 6-0 while filling in for an injured Terry Bradshaw.

Roethlisberger also sets the Steelers standards for wins over that 17-game stretch to start a career. He went 16-1 and, in that 2005 season, was on his way to helping the Steelers get to Super Bowl XL where the franchise captured its elusive “One for the Thumb” ring.

The Trib also calculated 17-start resumes for every Steelers’ home-grown quarterback beginning with Terry Bradshaw’s arrival in 1970. That included Cliff Stoudt (a 16-game sample size because that amounted to his total starts with the Steelers), Mark Malone, Bubby Brister, Neil O’Donnell, Kordell Stewart and Roethlisberger.

Tommy Maddox was not included for this comparison because he was 31 years old and with his fourth organization when he made the first start (out of 36 in his career) with the Steelers in 2002.

Calculations included starts only and do not factor in when a quarterback came off the bench in a game, like Pickett did last season when he made his debut against the New York Jets.

Ben Roethlisberger (2004-05 seasons)

Pickett: Record: 10-7. Att-Comp-Yards: 330-535-3,311. TD-INT: 12-10. Sacks: 41. Rush-Yds-TD: 65-234-1.

Completion percentage: 61.7. Passer rating: 78.96. Fourth-quarter comebacks: 4.

Roethlisberger: Record: 16-1. Att-Comp-Yards: 236-361-3,358. TD-INT: 22-9. Sacks: 36. Rush-Yds-TD: 64-181-2.

Completion percentage: 65.4. Passer rating: 105.25. Fourth-quarter comebacks: 5.

Outlook: For all the ups and downs Pickett has experienced through his 17 starts, he is one of four quarterbacks on our list with a winning record in that span. Roethlisberger, despite joining the Steelers when they still prioritized the run with Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley, had the most 17-start passing yards of any quarterback in our analysis.

His 22-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 105.25 passer rating were inflated because of Roethlisberger’s strong start to the 2005 season when he had seven touchdown passes and zero interceptions through his first four starts.

Kordell Stewart (1997-98 seasons)

Record: 11-6. Att-Comp-Yards: 260-472-3,220. TD-INT: 22-18. Sacks: 21. Rush-Yds-TD: 89-481-11.

Completion percentage: 55.1. Passer rating: 76.07. Fourth-quarter comebacks: 4.

Outlook: Although Stewart never got to a Super Bowl as a quarterback, the start to his NFL career as a passer can be viewed favorably. His 17-game analysis as a starter did not include games he started at wide receiver and attempted passes.

Stewart, like Roethlisberger, was the beneficiary of a strong running game behind Bettis. Pickett has the higher completion percentage and passer rating, but Stewart threw 10 more touchdown passes and took 20 fewer sacks. Stewart also had more rushing yards than any comparable Steelers quarterback and scored 11 times on the ground. He also matched Pickett with four comebacks in the fourth quarter.

Neil O’Donnell (1991-92 seasons)

Record: 8-9. Att-Comp-Yards: 291-507-2,565. TD-INT: 19-11. Sacks: 51. Rush-Yds-TD: 36-65-2.

Completion percentage: 57.4. Passer rating: 74.45. Fourth-quarter comebacks: 3.

Outlook: It took five seasons, four as the primary starter, but O’Donnell led the Steelers to a Super Bowl appearance. Pickett stacks up favorably to O’Donnell, holding the edge in completion percentage, passer rating and yards. He was sacked one fewer time than O’Donnell and made more plays with his legs. He also was sacked 10 fewer times. O’Donnell held the edge in touchdown passes.

Bubby Brister (1986-89)

Record Att-Comp-Yards TD-INT Sacks Rush-Yds-TD

Record: 4-13. Att-Comp-Yards: 225-487-3,253. TD-INT: 12-19. Sacks: 54. Rush-Yds-TD: 54-226-7.

Completion percentage: 46.2. Passer rating: 60.37. Fourth-quarter comebacks: 1.

Outlook: The fun-loving Brister had the misfortune of beginning his career with the Steelers during some of their leaner years in the mid-1980s. It wasn’t until his fourth NFL season that Brister made his 17th start, and that was rounded out by the start of the 1989 campaign when Brister was the quarterback in season-opening 51-0 and 41-10 losses.

Mark Malone (1981-85)

Record Att-Comp-Yards TD-INT Sacks Rush-Yds-TD

Record: 8-9. Att-Comp-Yards: 238-451-3,107. TD-INT: 28-23. Sacks: 35. Rush-Yds-TD: 31-139-5.

Completion percentage: 52.8. Passer rating: 74.21. Fourth-quarter comebacks: 1.

Outlook: Like Pickett, Malone was a first-round pick with the Steelers using the No. 28 selection in 1980 to find Bradshaw’s eventual successor. It wasn’t until 1985, however, that Malone made his 17th career start. The previous year, he started nine games as the Steelers reached the AFC championship game.

Although Malone didn’t throw the ball as frequently, he had 28 touchdown passes compared to Pickett’s 12, but he also threw 23 interceptions compared to 10. He took fewer sacks but produced five rushing touchdowns.

Cliff Stoudt (1980-83)

Record Att-Comp-Yards TD-INT Sacks Rush-Yds-TD

Record: 9-7. Att-Comp-Yards: 207-403-2,780. TD-INT: 10-21. Sacks: 48. Rush-Yds-TD: 79-471-4.

Completion percentage: 51.4. Passer rating: 60.19. Fourth-quarter comebacks: 2.

Outlook: Drafted by the Steelers in 1977, Stoudt was on the roster for 56 games before making an appearance. He had the misfortune of being Bradshaw’s replacement in 1983 when he made 15 starts, and he had no chance of living up to that standard. Although he had a winning record, Stoudt threw twice as many interceptions as touchdown passes, and he left for the USFL the following season.

Terry Bradshaw (1970-71)

Record Att-Comp-Yards TD-INT Sacks Rush-Yds-TD

Record: 7-10. Att-Comp-Yards: 210-416-2,737. TD-INT: 10-30. Sacks: 42. Rush-Yds-TD: 62-306-6.

Completion percentage: 50.5. Passer rating: 49.53. Fourth-quarter comebacks: 2.

Outlook: Pickett’s career has begun swimmingly compared to the way the four-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback started his career with the Steelers, who had yet to come of age early in the Chuck Noll era.

Had Bradshaw thrown 10 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions over his first 17 games in this era, he would have been ticketed for the bench. And, surely, if the fifth-year option and free agency had existed in the 1970s, the Steelers would have passed on Bradshaw in both circumstances. But the Steelers stuck to their belief in Bradshaw, and he rewarded them with multiple championships.