Coming into the Week Five matchup at Acrisure Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to be down the likes of wide receiver Diontae Johnson and tight end Pat Freiermuth for the big rivalry matchup. They also had quarterback Kenny Pickett a bit limited coming off of a knee injury suffered in Week Four against the Houston Texans.
With guys banged up and out of the lineup, that put more of an emphasis on the Steelers’ passing attack going through George Pickens.
The second-year standout wide receiver responded in a big way, hauling in six passes for 130 yards and the game-winning touchdown. That came on a 41-yard strike from Pickett down the Steelers’ sideline with Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey in coverage.
Following the game both Pickett and Pickens stated to the media that entering the game there was an emphasis on getting him the football when given certain looks, especially on the Cover 0 call from Baltimore late in the game that led to Pittsburgh’s only touchdown.
That emphasis paid off. Pickens had 10 targets in the win and was a force in contested-catch situations, looking very much like the Pickens from his rookie season in the 17-1o win over the Ravens.
“That was the plan. You never know how it’s gonna play out, but that was the plan going into it,” Pickett said to reporters after the game regarding getting Pickens the football quite a bit, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “If we have those chances to get George one-on-one, we’ll take it. Sometimes they press, sometimes they did it in zero [coverage]. So it all depends on the look, and we got the perfect look for it down the stretch.”
It was indeed the perfect look for Pickens and the Steelers. He found himself in single coverage throughout the second half of the game and really took over as Pickett heated up. Pickens won along the sideline consistently on back-shoulder throws in contested-catch situations and then ran away from Humphrey down the Steelers’ sideline, creating separation late for the game-winning score.
Not only did he know that if they got a certain look late in the game the Steelers were coming his way, Pickens knew he’d play a significant role in the matchup overall, especially going against Humphrey, who had come off Injured Reserve.
“I kind of knew I would play a big factor in the game, not knowing how big or how small the factor would be,” Pickens said to reporters, according to video via the Steelers YouTube page. “I knew I’d probably play a significant role for sure.”
That he did.
Six catches, 130 yards and a touchdown later, the Steelers have a big win in AFC North football, moving to 2-0 in the division and sitting at 3-2 entering the bye week. The Steelers should get healthy and could see the likes of Johnson and Freiermuth return, giving the offense a boost.
One thing is clear moving forward though: the plan each week should be to get the football to Pickens more often than not.
