Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett got the chance to take a knee in victory formation to win a Super Bowl for the Philadelphia Eagles . The Eagles took care of business, as the game was pretty much over at halftime. The defensive line created havoc for the Kansas City Chiefs all game, recording six sacks on star quarterback Patrick Mahomes .
Pickett entered the game late and handed the ball off a few times and attempted one pass. Nothing earth-shattering happened, but Pickett got the chance to close out the game for the team that he grew up cheering for in Ocean Township, New Jersey. Pickett now can claim that he's a Super Bowl champion, a feat that is not easy to obtain.
This time a year ago, Kenny Pickett did not see himself where he stands today. Pickett, who was the first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, was the Steelers' starting quarterback 365 days ago.
When the Steelers needed a quarterback after Ben Roethlisberger retired at the end of the 2021 season, Pickett just so happened to be in the draft pool, and he was unexpectedly available to the Steelers at pick No. 20 , after some other interested teams passed.
It was a storybook script, especially for the oft-heartless NFL. Pickett would stay in his adopted home of Pittsburgh. The Steelers, after passing on Dan Marino in 1983, would keep the next great Pitt quarterback in town.
None of it worked out according to plan. The Steelers saddled Pickett with a failure of an offensive coordinator in Matt Canada , and despite his status as a veteran college player with ton of starting experience, he never fit in as a leader in a veteran locker room.
"Yeah, man, it came a long way," Pickett said to Steelers Now at NFL Opening Night on Monday . "You never know where the game's gonna take you. Just, I'm grateful to be here, just be where your feet are. If you put everything into the team, good things happen, so it's been a good year."
Alan Saunders contributed reporting for the story.
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