“The devil went down to Georgia, he was lookin’ for a soul to stealHe was in a bind ’cause he was way behindAnd he was willin’ to make a deal”
In so many ways, the intro verses of Charlie Daniels’ The Devil Went Down To Georgia can apply to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wild win over the Baltimore Ravens’ Sunday afternoon. Of course, it was a home game (and given the Steelers’ recent plane issues, they were likely extra thankful for it) but it was the Pittsburgh Steelers who went down to Georgia, got WR George Pickens, and in the bind of a stagnant offense, used him to win a big Week Five game.
And yeah, I know the devil loses in the song. Work with me here.
In the end, it was Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey, who attended the same high school as Pickens, who lost the fiddle-playing contest that was his one-on-one matchup with Pickens at the end of Sunday’s game. In a true man-on-man situation with zero safety help, Pickens dusted Humphrey for a 41-yard touchdown to provide the pivotal points in a critical Steelers’ victory. It proved to be the game-winning touchdown and first lead Pittsburgh had all game.
Humphrey and Pickens both grew up in Hoover, Alabama, and attended Hoover High School. They went separate ways for college, Pickens committing to Georgia, Humphrey staying home to play for Alabama. Sunday pitted them against each other in a classic Steelers/Ravens matchup.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Pickens said this one had a little extra meaning to him.
“Him going to my high school, him being from Alabama. It’s more like of a, I don’t wanna say a practice field, but it’s a guy that I know personally,” he said via Steelers.com. “So it’s a little different.”
For Pickens, the outcome was the same as he’s done throughout his football career. A big downfield play in a clutch moment, winning off the line, stacking Humphrey, and finishing the play for the score.
Based on the timeline, I don’t believe Pickens and Humphrey were ever on the same team together at Hoover High. Humphrey has Pickens beat by five years, but Pickens was obviously aware of Humphrey growing up. Humphrey was a five-star recruit who could’ve played anywhere in the country but stayed home where he turned himself in a first-round pick. A talented corner, Humphrey was returning from his first game after suffering a foot injury. He lost on the game’s most important play. Afterwards, he talked to reporters about what happened.
“You kind of get beat sometimes when you blitz the house,” Humphrey said via Ravens’ reporter Jamison Hensley. “This was one of those times.”
Pittsburgh’s offense certainly wasn’t good, far from it, but Pickens had a huge day. He finished with six receptions for 130 yards and the score that came after Baltimore left him singled-up more often than expected, especially as the Steelers were depleted by injuries to their top skills players.
We might not get the mic’d up moment of the play, this Steelers/Ravens game didn’t have the big-time feel like others did, in part because it was an afternoon game so early in the season. But we can only imagine what the conversation was like between Pickens and Humprey. Maybe it went something like this.
“Johnny said, “Devil, just come on back if you ever wanna try againI done told you once you son of a bitch, I’m the best that’s ever been”
The golden fiddle went to Pickens. The win went to the Steelers. And oh man, did they need this one.
