Mike Tomlin Addresses QB Situation After 'Thursday Night Football' Loss

Pittsburgh Steelers v Cleveland Browns

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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reiterated that he doesn't plan to make a quarterback change, despite the team falling to 1-2 after a 29-17 loss to the division-rival Cleveland Browns on Thursday (September 22) night.

"I'm not in that mindset," Tomlin said postgame. "I'm interested in reviewing his tape and looking at the totality of it and figuring how we collectively get better.

"So, the answer to that question is definitively no."

Veteran Mitchell Trubisky finished Thursday's game with 207 yards on 20 of 32 passing and has only thrown two touchdowns in his first three games amid the Steelers' offensive struggles.

On Monday (September 19), Tomlin said he wasn't ready to panic after Pittsburgh's Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots, despite fans at Acrisure Stadium chanting "Kenny" in support of backup rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett over Trubisky.

"I'm going to exercise appropriate patience and continue to teach and ask the guys to continue to learn in an effort to continue to push this train down the track and get better," Tomlin said when asked if he was satisfied with the team's playcalling via ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "I think that if anyone is sitting here on Monday in Week 2 of this thing feeling happy, they're probably wrong or misinformed."

Trubisky was named as the Steelers' starting quarterback days ahead of the 2022 NFL season, despite the team investing long-term in Pickett, who was already popular among the local fanbase as a former standout at the University of Pittsburgh.

Last month, ESPN's Dianna Russini reported that Pittsburgh's starting role was "Mitchell Trubisky's job to lose," despite Pickett's strong performances through two preseason games and training camp.

In July, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Trubisky appeared to be "leading" the steelers' quarterback competition during the team's first week of training camp.

Trubisky was getting the "first crack at winning the starting QB job," according to Rapoport, who said the former No. 2 overall pick is "a perfect system fit" in offensive coordinator Matt Canada's offense, despite the team having recently invested its long-term plans in Pickett, the No. 20 overall pick in this year's draft.

Trubisky signed a two-year deal with the Steelers in March, sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo at the time.

Trubisky made 50 career starts during his five seasons with the Chicago Bears, finishing with a 29-21 QB record, as well as throwing for 10,609 yards, 64 touchdowns and 37 interceptions on 1,010 of 1,577 passing, while also recording 1,057 yards and eight touchdowns on 190 rushing attempts.

Pickett, a Heisman Trophy finalist, was one of college football's most decorated passers in 2021, winning numerous national awards while leading the Pittsburgh Panthers, who share a football facility and stadium with the Steelers, to an ACC championship and 11-2 record.


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