Over the last five days, all the attention has been placed on WR George Pickens. Over the next five, he’ll receive all the attention again. This time, for the right reasons.
After a media firestorm criticizing Pickens’ lack of effort blocking against the Indianapolis Colts — and his questionable explanations for it — Pickens did his talking on the field Saturday night. He had a monster performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, busting out for 195 yards and two 60-plus yard touchdowns, a career game for him and one of the best by a Steelers receiver in recent memory.
On the surface, it might seem like his night would quiet any questions the Steelers might’ve had about him in that locker room. But RB Najee Harris says there weren’t questions or concerns to begin with, defending and supporting Pickens during his postgame interview.
“There was no questions that needed to be answered,” Harris said as shared by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Nothing like that. He played well today. He practiced hard. He’s a good player for us. There’s clips of him blocking guys off the ball, running them off, throwing them. Why is it a question? It’s always getting blown up when somebody does something wrong.”
Pickens came under intense criticism initially for his poor effort on a goal-line play last Saturday against the Colts. Days later, he explained to reporters that he pulled up on the block not wanting to risk injury, comments that didn’t sit well with fans and players, including ex-Steelers. Ryan Clark was among that group, lumping Pickens into a group of perceived “cancers” the team has had.
Harris said his focus isn’t on what outsiders have to say.
“I can understand that. Because people are looking outside-in. Not inside the building…us players, we look at him. We understand. We don’t feel a type of way towards him. We all make mistakes,” Harris said. “Ryan Clark obviously is a player and played here. But we didn’t feel a type of way towards GP.”
Largely, the criticism came from outside the locker room, though RB Jaylen Warren certainly seemed at least a bit upset by the play, telling the PPG’s Ray Fittipaldo he would’ve blocked for Pickens if the roles were reversed. It’s why winning is so important. Maybe it’s not a cure-all. But it’s at least a perfect masking agent for any problems or frustrations or negative feelings.
Pittsburgh sank to the bottom amid a three-game losing streak and its resolve was tested Saturday night, needing to win against a red-hot Cincinnati Bengals team. The Steelers won in convincing fashion. Pickens had a huge game. Harris was solid on the ground. The offense looked better than it had all season. If Pittsburgh can keep stacking performances like this, the Pickens saga of this past week will be just a memory came the start of the new year.
