Watching the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense this season has been a difficult pill to swallow for many Steelers fans as well as media analysts alike. As we’ve written before on the site, Pittsburgh has the talent and personnel to be an explosive offense, possessing young playmakers at receiver and running back as well as proven veterans along the offensive line. We saw glimpses of it in the preseason as the first-team offense couldn’t be stopped, driving down the field with ease to put touchdowns on the board.
However, those expectations were met by a brick wall to start the regular season as the offense looked flat, struggling to move the ball via the run and the passing game. Despite a couple of big plays from WRs George Pickens and Calvin Austin III, Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t generate much positivity the first four weeks of the season heading into a Week Five matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.
The same proved to be the case for most of the game as Pittsburgh couldn’t get into the end zone, failing to score a touchdown until there was 1:17 left in the fourth quarter. However, a big reason for the offense finally coming alive was Pickens, who had a career day against Baltimore. Pickens finished the game with six receptions on 10 targets for 130 yards and a 41-yard touchdown to put Pittsburgh on top along with a carry for 16 yards, amassing 146 yards of total offense. When looking back at the tape, you saw Pickens truly perform like an alpha wide receiver against Baltimore, facing a top three-ranked coverage unit in football and shredded it help Pittsburgh pull out the win.
The Film
Pickens has operated as the team’s de facto No. 1 wide receiver since Diontae Johnson went on IR with a hamstring injury. This means that Pickens has drawn the top coverage from opposing teams, seeing plenty of Pro Bowl CB Marlon Humphrey on Sunday with Humphrey returning from a foot injury that kept him from playing the first four games. On Pickens’ first reception of the game, he sees tight coverage from Humphrey after the snap, having Humphrey get hands on him as he breaks inside. Pickens manages to play through the contact and catch the pass between Humphrey and LB Roquan Smith. Getting sandwiched, he manages to stay upright and tries to fight for more yards before getting wrestled down.
The very next play, Pittsburgh pulls some trickery with Pickens. The Steelers run an end around to the right with Pickens getting a huge block by TE Connor Heyward as he crosses the line of scrimmage. Pickens picks up another block from RT Chukwuma Okorafor, eventually leaping over S Geno Stone to get a couple extra yards to cap the 16-yard run.
Pittsburgh didn’t manage to connect with Pickens again until the end of the third quarter with Pittsburgh on its own 26-yard line. QB Kenny Pickett fakes the handoff to RB Najee Harris then looks for Pickens, who runs a flag/corner route at the bottom of your screen toward the left sideline, finding the soft spot in the zone coverage. Pickett puts the pass right on him as Pickens gets sandwiched by CB Brandon Stephens and S Marcus Williams after moving the chains on a 23-yard catch.
Right before the end of the quarter, Pittsburgh goes back to Pickens again along the left sideline with Stephens in coverage. Pickett throws back shoulder to Pickens, who turns back to the football and toe taps the grass, staying in bounds to make the catch and move the chains.
Pickens sees his next target with 2:09 left in the fourth quarter after Pittsburgh settles for a field goal on its previous drive. It’s third down and four with Pickens at the top of your screen lined up again with Stephens in single coverage. Pickett takes the snap and throws the sideline fade to Pickens again on a back-shoulder throw. Pickens comes down with an impressive contested catch along the sideline with Stephens all over him, putting Pittsburgh in field goal range at the two-minute warning.
However, Pittsburgh didn’t settle for a field goal this time as Pickett went for all the marbles after an unsuccessful Jaylen Warren run. He sees Pickens in single coverage with Humphrey at the bottom of your screen and throws it up down the sideline as Pickens works to separate and stack Humphrey down the field. He gets away with a slight push off at the top of the route as he snags the ball over the shoulder into the breadbasket and runs into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
Conclusion
It was a fantastic performance from George Pickens. He his best game yet as a Steeler against a stout Ravens defense that had been putting the clamps on opposing wideouts, even with Humphrey out of the lineup. It didn’t matter who was covering Pickens on Sunday as he routinely beat Humphrey and Stephens in coverage, getting just enough separation while showing of his combative-catch ability in crucial moments of the game to help Pittsburgh complete the fourth quarter comeback.
Pickens could have gone down right before the goal line to prevent giving Baltimore the ball back, but with the Ravens still having two timeouts and knowing how Pittsburgh’s offense had done up to that point, I can’t fault him for wanting to get into the end zone for the guaranteed score. You could also point to the subtle push off by Pickens on Humphrey at the top of the route or the lack of great separation as a route runner, which is still an aspect that he needs to improve. However, we have seen the likes of Mike Evans, A.J. Brown, and D.K. Metcalf thrive as alpha wide receivers in the league with minimal separation thanks to their physical traits. That is what Pickens showed us on Sunday against Baltimore.
The two times that Pickens has seen double-digit targets this season, he’s gone for 120-plus yards, an explosive touchdown, and the game resulted in a Steelers’ win. That’s not to say that Pickens needs to have 10-plus targets a game, but he is coming through in a big way when the offense decides to go to him, doing a great job moving the chains as well as creating splash downfield. That’s what an alpha wide receiver is supposed to do, and that is what Pickens did against the Ravens.
Diontae Johnson should come back for Pittsburgh soon after its bye week, but Pickens’ role in the offense shouldn’t diminish. If anything, Pickett should be more consistent in looking his way throughout the game as there would be long stretches where he wouldn’t see a target, during with the offense would stall. It could be just a coincidence, or it could be that Pittsburgh is getting away from its best playmaker in the passing game.
Pickens has shown he is worthy of heavy targets in the passing game, coming through in a big way when he gets those opportunities. Pittsburgh would be wise to see this too during the bye, making more of a concerted effort to feature Pickens after the small break, even with Johnson and Pat Freiermuth back in the fold.
