Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will start on Thursday versus the New England Patriots in Week 13, per head coach Mike Tomlin.
Trubisky will make at least one start after Kenny Pickett underwent ankle surgery on Monday. He entered in the second quarter on Sunday versus the Arizona Cardinals and completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 117 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. However, the majority of production came in garbage time of the Steelers' 24-10 loss. The Steelers will likely try to rely on the run game even more while Trubisky is filling in for Pickett.
Trubisky averaged 0.47 while Pickett averaged 0.06 Passing Net Expected Points per attempt versus the Cardinals in Week 13, so the quarterback change might not be a downgrade for Pittsburgh's pass-catchers. The Patriots are a tough draw in Trubisky's first start, as they allow the sixth-fewest FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks this season.
Source: Adam Schefter, ESPN