Second-year Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has had a very tumultuous week. One which stems from him failing to block for a teammate, and then saying it was because he didn’t wanna risk injury. After a week of back and forth between him and the media, and even Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin telling Pickens to “shut his damn mouth,” the talented pass-catcher went out and showed why the Steelers have put up with his antics.
In a must-win game versus the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals, Pickens went for a career-high 195 yards and two touchdowns on just four receptions. It was the type of game the talented but mercurial wideout is capable of, and everybody in the Steelers organization knows such. Both of Pickens’ touchdowns — one an 86-yarder and the other a 66-yarder — made him just the second player this season with two touchdown receptions of 60 yards or more.
Pickens Seized His Opportunity
All season Pickens has been clamoring for more targets, and while he only had six on Saturday, he made good on four of them, averaging a whopping 48.8 yards per reception. In his postgame interview the former Georgia Bulldogs standout said, “I was just hoping he’d give me a chance. You never know where he’ll throw the ball, so I didn’t have a full idea. But anytime he throwing the ball, I’m going to try to make the best play.”
The “he” Pickens is speaking of is quarterback Mason Rudolph, who made his first start of the season, replacing the benched Mitchell Trubisky. Rudolph, the former Oklahoma State standout, gave the Steelers a huge lift at a position that’s been detrimental to their campaign of late.
Rudolph went 17 of 27 for 290 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. With starter Kenny Pickett expected back from injury next week, Rudolph and Pickens’ effort went a long way in keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.
What Took So Long?
Watching Pickens make plays like he did Saturday has to make one wonder why the Steelers haven’t gotten him the ball more often weekly. While the quarterback play has been shoddy at best all season, it’s no excuse not to target Pickens at least five to seven times weekly. At 6 feet 3 and 200 pounds and huge catch radius, Pickens deserves opportunities weekly to have an impact on the game.
This season Pickens leads the Steelers receivers with 56 receptions for 1,009 yards and five touchdowns. If the Steelers have any hope of making the playoffs the play of Pickens the final two weeks will go a long way in determining that outcome.
