Kenny Pickett's status 'up in the air' for Thursday Night Football vs. Titans due to rib injury per report

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett had to exit Pittsburgh’s 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday due to an injury to his ribs. Now, as the team heads into a short week, he may be forced to miss the next game because of the issue.

Adam Schefter shared the latest on Pickett’s availability for Week 9 in a tweet on Sunday night. Per his update from a source, his status for the Steeler’s matchup with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football is currently “up in the air” with a lot riding on how he feels on Monday to decide if he can return in time for kickoff this week.

Steelers’ QB Kenny Pickett injured his ribs today and his status for Thursday night’s game vs. the Titans is “up in the air”, per league source. The team wants to see how he’s feeling Monday to get a further idea of his availability.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 30, 2023

Pickett went 10-16 for 73 yards and had a 10-yard rush before he had to exit the contest.

Mitchell Trubisky took over at that point and went 15-27 for 138 yards, a touchdown, and a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions in the 10-point loss to Jacksonville.

In his second season in the NFL, Pickett has passed for 1,330 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions on 61% completion. That production helped Pittsburgh to their 4-2 record before their loss in Week 8 to the Jaguars.

If Pickett were to miss the next game against the Titans, Trubisky would likely be in the early lead to make his first start since Week 15 against Carolina last December. If not, Mason Rudolph could end up active and see his first action since the end of the 2021 season.

At the moment, Pittsburgh is a slight home favorite in the AFC clash against Tennessee on Thursday night. Without Pickett, though, it might become even more of a toss-up and a challenge for the Steelers to have to overcome with only a few days in between now and then

Diontae Johnson calls out refs after Steelers’ loss to the Jaguars

Diontae Johnson didn’t bite his tongue during his postgame interview on Sunday.

After the Pittsburgh Steelers fell 20-10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Johnson furiously ranted about the referees.

“They cost us the game,” Johnson said. “They wanted them to win. Everything was in their favor. They were getting every little call. But it is what it is.”

The referees had multiple questionable calls in the game, including a missed pass interference and an arguable roughing the passer penalty.

Johnson believed the referees took a victory from under the Steelers’ feet.

“They must have got paid good today, or something, but that field goal, that hurt us. Coming into the half, we needed that,” Johnson said. “That field goal hurt us. They was calling some stupid stuff. They should get fined for calling that, for making worse, terrible calls, stuff like that. That’s how pissed I am.”