Kenny Pickett made his NFL debut in the second half of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs New York Jets match at Heinz Field, home of the Steelers. On just his second drive, he ran into the Jets’ endzone for his maiden NFL touchdown.

Watch the play: 

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The one-yard scoring play occurred in the third quarter of the game as the football was on the third and goal line. His second touchdown came in the fourth quarter as he rushed into Jets‘ endzone. 

Watch: 

This is Pickett’s first-ever start in NFL. The player was selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was named the backup quarterback for the Steelers behind starter Mitchell Trubisky. 

After not playing in the first half of the match, the team announced that Pickett would be taking over the field to start the second half versus the Jets. By the time Trubisky left the field, he had already thrown an interception with seven successful passes in thirteen attempts for 84 yards. 

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Pickett was born on June 6, 1998 in Ocean Township city of New Jersey and attended the high school by the same name. At school, he passed for 4670 yards with 43 passing TDs while simultaneously rushing for 873 yards and 17 touchdowns. The quarterback initially committed to play for Temple University but then changed his mind to go to the University of Pittsburgh and play for their Panthers football team.

He played for the team from 2017-2021 and was the recipient of the ACC Player of the Year award in 2021, along with the ACC Offensive Player of the Year in the same year. At college, he passed for a combined, 12303 yards and scored 81 endzone plays. 

  He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He also signed a four-year, $14.1 million contract subsequently.