The Pittsburgh Steelers might have lost Sunday’s fight, but…well, they didn’t win the war either. But their new quarterback at least showed some potential and some spirit. Already showing a willingness to take hits as part of the game, Kenny Pickett also showed the tenacity to hold his own against a very questionable hit.
Pickett was hit in the knee by Buffalo Bills defenseman Shaq Lawson about a minute to play on a 4th and 17th throw in a 35-point game. He shoved Lawson in response, which resulted in a penalty for himself – none for the defender. But his reaction was widely praised – even by Bills players.
“I liked it,” Buffalo wide receiver Stefon Diggs said on The Voncast, a podcast hosted by teammate Von Miller. “Shit, he’s not my quarterback, so he’s still the ops, but when I saw him do that, I was like, ‘It takes a quarterback to push a D-lineman, especially one like that.”
“Shaq’s no chump,” he continued. “It showed that he is strong. And his teammates came and supported him, so firstly you have to show him some respect and secondly be like, alright, he has some shit with them. He’s not your normal little run-of-the-mill, Imma just takes it by the chin.”
One would hope that, for the most part, NFL players don’t try to physically harm one another. I don’t know what kind of shot Lawson was aiming for, but the one he delivered to Pickett was certainly dangerous as it landed in the knee area.
Pickett said so after the game when asked why he reacted to Lawson the way he did, telling reporters that from his perspective at the moment, he felt like the defender was going to get on his knee after the throw.
And it wasn’t the first hit he’d suffered throughout the day. The first, which was questionable, even came from a former college teammate, Damar Hamlin, who was slammed by guard James Daniels – who was also widely praised in the dressing room. But even Bills’ defensemen appreciated their rival quarterback’s fire.
“I don’t think it’s that much about the hit Shaq gave him,” Miller said. “I think it was like, ‘Our result and the situation we are in is not acceptable. It won’t be us. This is my first start, but I’ll show you I don’t accept this shit. That is not good for me'”.
In other words, they want their own quarterback to react the same way when faced with the same situation. And it makes matters worse when it seems obvious officials aren’t protecting him in the same way as other quarterbacks, as Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said in his post-game press conference.