While Coach Mike Tomlin hasn't made anything official and won't until Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers have released their depth chart for Week 1 at Cincinnati on Sunday and Mitchell Trubisky is the No. 1 quarterback, apparently beating out first-round rookie Kenny Pickett – who actually is third on the chart also behind Mason Rudolph. The Steelers are 6.5-point underdogs at Caesars Sportsbook.
Presuming Tomlin doesn't surprise everyone tomorrow, it will mark the first time since 2017 that not a single rookie quarterback will start Week 1 around the NFL. Three of them did last year in Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence, the New York Jets' Zach Wilson and New England's Mac Jones. Fellow rookies like Trey Lance (Niners), Justin Fields (Bears) and Davis Mills (Texans) would eventually get starts. The 2021 quarterback class was not considered very strong – Pickett was the only QB to go before Round 3.
Trubisky was voted one of the Steelers' five captains on Monday, so that pretty much gave away who would start at quarterback. You don't not start a guy whom the team voted a captain. Trubisky completed 71 percent of his passes this preseason for 283 yards, two TDs and no picks. Pickett completed 81 percent for 261 yards, three TDs and no picks, so I highly doubt he's actually behind Rudolph.
Pickett remains the +900 favorite at Caesars to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Steelers haven't started a rookie QB in Week 1 since Terry Bradshaw in 1970. Ben Roethlisberger didn't get his chance until Week 2 of his rookie 2004 season when Tommy Maddox was injured. This will mark the first time Pittsburgh starts someone other than Big Ben in Week 1 since 2010 when Dennis Dixon got the call vs. Atlanta and the Steelers won 15-9 in OT at home.
Trubisky has the sixth-best record (25-13) by any starting QB since 2018 (minimum 20 starts). His last regular-season start was Chicago's 35-16 home loss to Green Bay in Week 17 of the 2020 season.
Of course, the Bengals made a surprise run to Super Bowl 56 last season, losing in it to the Rams. Teams coming off a Super Bowl loss are 4-18 ATS (9-13 SU) in Week 1 since 2000.
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