Steelers' Mitchell Trubisky to Start vs. Colts; Kenny Pickett Out With Ankle Injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without quarterback Kenny Pickett for a second straight game as he continues to recover from ankle surgery.

Per ESPN's Brooke Pryor, the Steelers will start Mitchell Trubisky under center for Saturday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Trubisky filled in for Pickett in Thursday night's game against the New England Patriots, but he struggled a bit as the Steelers went on to suffer a 21-18 loss. He completed 22 of his 35 passes for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception while also adding a rushing touchdown.

While speaking to reporters on Monday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praised Trubisky for his improvement in the second half despite the loss.

"Mitch picked up his play as the game wore on," Tomlin said. "I thought that that is a reasonable expectation, for him to be even better because of that experience, and because of the experience of having a full week's prep this week in preparation for the performance, in-helmet reps, full-speed reps, excited about that component of it."

Despite Trubisky's second-half improvements, Pittsburgh's offense still struggled to move the ball. Two possessions ended with turnovers on downs, including one that began at the Patriots' 16-yard line following an interception by Mykal Walker. Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was seen yelling at teammates on the sideline during the game, likely out of frustration over the offense's struggles.

"It is a problem because it's not solution-oriented," Tomlin said when asked about Pickens' outbursts. "We're all frustrated, but we got to manage our frustrations in a professional, mature way and when it's not done that way it's not necessarily pushing us toward solutions."

Tomlin also added that while quarterback Mason Rudolph will get increased practice reps this week, he will not supplant Trubisky as the starter against the Colts.

"He'll get an opportunity to get some work, and we'll evaluate that work and evaluate his readiness, but we're not opening up competition and things of that nature," Tomlin said. "It's just not an environment for that as we work."