UPDATE: Pickens has also posted to his Instagram story, a black screen with the caption “kept receipts,” followed by an emoji.
Coming off a drama-filled week, wide receiver George Pickens had the best game of his NFL career in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 16 blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Pickens had four receptions for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and his 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown on Pittsburgh’s second offensive play set the tone for the rest of the game. After the game, Pickens said he “kept receipts” after being criticized for his effort against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15 and his ensuing comments during the week, which he apologized for.
“I made some comments, before the week that kind of ticked you guys off. But I wanna say I’m just here to win, make the proper adjustments and be a great player, to be honest,” Pickens said via Steelers.com.
He added that there wasn’t any extra motivation for this week because he knows the type of person he is. However, when asked about what he took away from the experience, he said he “kept receipts,” while also acknowledging that reporters just have a job to do.
“I’d probably just say, I kept receipts for sure. But you know, guys and people, they just got a job to do. That’s probably the biggest thing I took out of it,” Pickens said.
This week, I don’t think anyone is going to be talking about Pickens’ blocking ability. He showed why the Steelers didn’t bench him, having one of the best games by a Steelers wide receiver in years. He had two touchdowns of 60-plus yards and displayed really nice chemistry with QB Mason Rudolph, who threw for 290 yards in his first start of the season. Pickens credited the work he got in during practice with Rudolph for their chemistry tonight, and it certainly showed.
While the Steelers don’t have great odds to make the playoffs, they’re still alive, and Pickens is a big reason why. Whatever receipts he needs to keep to help him put up 195 yards in a game is fine by Steelers fans and I’m sure fine with the team and organization.
Pickens’ lack of effort last week was a problem, and it shouldn’t just be forgotten about or excused, but he certainly helped make up for it with his performance today. He showed the talent and provided the production that had been lacking over the last few weeks. He also showed why the team still thinks so highly of him. Hopefully for Pickens, tonight’s performance is the start of a good stretch to end the season where we only talk about him for good reasons and not his effort or anything off the field.
