Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens had the best game of his career with a four-catch, 195-yard performance with two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh’s 34-11 Week 16 win. It was his first game with over 100 yards since Week 7, and while former NFL wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Randy Moss was impressed with Pickens’ performance, he wants to see more consistency.
On ESPN’s NFL Countdown, Moss said he liked that Pickens and head coach Mike Tomlin talked about doing their job, and that needs to be a more consistent goal for Pickens.
“Me as a wide receiver, doing my job, get open and catch the football. Pickens, what I need to see, wide receiver to wide receiver, is a little bit more consistency. Like Rex [Ryan] said, we know what type of athletic ability that you bring to the table. But one of the strengths of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been the wide receivers over the last couple of years, but there has been inconsistency week in and week out. I liked what I saw last night, man, does it continue? I can’t wait to see next week to see what George Pickens brings us.”
Tedy Bruschi added that eyes will still be on Pickens behind the scenes, so he’s going to have to prove that he can be a consistent performer. Obviously, drama followed Pickens into the Week 16 matchup after his comments about his lack of effort in Week 15, but he quickly turned the conversation away from that with an 86-yard touchdown grab on Pittsburgh’s second offensive play (and apparently “kept receipts”). He went on to also have a 44-yard reception at the end of the first half to set up a Pittsburgh field goal, and a 66-yard touchdown in the second half.
He played the way people thought he would ahead of the season when he was called more talented than Justin Jefferson by Ryan Clark. The performance got him up over 1,000 yards on the season, but he’s had stretches this season where he hasn’t been as productive as a receiver with his talent should be. Quarterback play and scheme have played a factor, but Pickens needs to show more consistency.
Obviously, no one is asking him to generate 195 yards on a weekly basis. But he needs to do better than the 22-yard, 19-yard and 25-yard performances that have been peppered throughout the season. Yesterday’s game could turn the tide, and be the sort of game that shows the importance of getting Pickens the ball and getting him the ball in situations where he can be the most effective. But the onus is also going to be on him to keep his head straight and channel his frustration in a more positive way to help the team.
If that can happen, Pickens can emerge as one of the best receivers in the league, which will obviously be a huge boon for the Steelers offense.
