Kovacevic: Kenny deserves better than all these hyperbolic evaluations

It came together at the end, and all that matters is the Steelers got the W.

Or, as Kenny Pickett put it afterward, "It came together at the end and all that matters is we got the W."

See? Simple stuff, right?

I swear, for all the goodness that emanates from our city's passion for all things football, especially on an extraordinary evening like that Christmas Eve spectacle at Acrisure Stadium, the extremes can be too much to take at times. And double that, triple that, even quadruple that when it comes to evaluating the quarterback position, of which everyone purports to be an expert.

When Kenny has a lousy game -- no, a lousy pass -- his career's a catastrophe in waiting. And Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin need to turn serious about selecting yet another first-round quarterback in the NFL Draft. And he can't do this, can't do that, small hands, limp arm, he's not Joe Burrow, he's more Zach Wilson and ... am I doing this right?

Whereas, at the other end, when Kenny has an awesome game -- no, an awesome pass -- then it's inexplicable that the Rooneys are dragging their feet in carving a Kenny statue and, if anyone dares to disagree with that, they must just hate Pitt or something.

As ever, the truth's somewhere in the middle, so let's give that crazy concept a try, all right?

Like this ...

Kenny completed 26 of 39 passes for 244 yards, a touchdown, an interception, a long of 25, an average of 6.3. Not catastrophic. Not statue-worthy.

Kenny's first eight drives resulted in a punt, a missed field goal, a field goal, an interception, another missed field goal, another punt, another field goal and another punt. His final full drive decided the damned game. Not catastrophic. Not statue-worthy.

Kenny's pick was awful in every way, a bad read followed by a bad decision followed by a bad throw:

Kenny's 14-yard dime to George Pickens might've been the smartest sequencing of his brief time in the NFL, followed by the sharpest throw of his brief time in the NFL:

Not catastrophic. Not statue-worthy. 

It's almost as if he's a rookie who'll make rookie mistakes, with that context magnified by his not having received starter reps until a month into the regular season. Almost as if, through absorbing and processing those mistakes, he'll wind up a better quarterback by the next game. Or even the next pass.

"It wasn't pretty," Kenny'd assess of the offense overall. "It wasn't what we wanted. The conditions were what they were, but I feel like everyone was locked in on what we had to do, but we didn't let that affect us. We came together, executed at a high level for the final two-minute drive, and got in the end zone and won the game, so that's all that matters."

Oh, right. Almost forgot about the feels-like minus-12 temps at kickoff, mixed with a swirling, occasionally gusting funnel of precipitation that never left the place. One that moved Derek Carr on the Las Vegas side to complain of "different things" that contributed to his three interceptions, but one that'd barely be mentioned by Kenny.

But about that winning drive: Kenny'd go 7 of 9 for 75 yards, and he'd squeeze out a first-down sneak of his own:

His passing was crisp, and his play-calling was sublime.

Wait, play-calling?

Well, not really. Pickens stated after the game that Kenny called that entire drive on his own, though Kenny'd later clarify that Matt Canada was still sending in the schemes. Still, given Canada's body of work ... 

... the impact of absolutely anyone being even the tiniest bit freer to alter on the go can't be overstated.

Moreover, and more prominent in the postgame dialogue, several players confirmed that it was at that stage that Kenny flat-out took over. Not by peeling paint, but by demonstrating the same poise that's impressed people at South Water Street since his drafting. He came up with the play-call, he barked with authority, he ensured everyone was where they're supposed to be, and that was that.

“That’s pretty much it,” was how Pickens retold it. ‘No movie script. It was more like, ‘Let’s go!’ ”

Kenny'd corroborate that, albeit with one caveat.

"Yeah, I mean, there's no rah-rah, no speech that's going to put the ball in the end zone, man," Kenny'd recall. "It's very simple: Everyone has to lock in, do their job. I'm going to call the plays we're gonna get relayed in. I told them they're going to execute, I'll execute, and we're going to win the game."

Just that?

"That's pretty much it. So when you're in the locker room after and you guys are hugging after a win, that's the best feeling in the world. I had no doubt that we were going to get it done."

“It wasn’t ideal weather to be coming back late in the game in a two-minute drill, but he got it done,” Mason Cole would say. "Hats off to Kenny. I’m just really proud of him. That showed what kind of player he is.”

Not a catastrophe. Not statue-worthy. But plenty promising enough that he probably should be past all the back-and-forth silliness in public. He's the guy for the foreseeable future, and that's that.