There’s no denying throwing the football is harder to do the closer you get to the end zone. The field shrinks and the defense always has an advantage. So if you are a quarterback who can be efficient throwing the ball inside the 10-yard line, you give your offense a huge statistical advantage.
So when we see that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett is ranked 29th in NFL last season in completion percentage inside the 10-yard line, there is cause for concern. Pickett finished with just a 38 percent completion rate which seems unacceptable given all his weapons. But when you see Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts actually worse, it really brings into question the value of this stat.
The Steelers have made it clear they plan to be a run-heavy team so when the team is inside the 10-yard line, that philosophy should help Pickett. With big targets like wide receiver George Pickens and tight end Pat Freiermuth out in the route with the threat to run with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, the accuracy will improve.
completion rate inside the 10-yard line
68% – Daniel Jones
64% – Ryan Tannehill
63% – Dak Prescott
62% – Jimmy Garoppolo
60% – Patrick Mahomes
59% – Jared Goff
56% – Trevor Lawrence
55% – Justin Herbert
55% – Marcus Mariota
53% – Aaron Rodgers
53% – Kirk Cousins
52% – Mac Jones…— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 29, 2023
