For the better part of the second half of the season, Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens had not been producing and putting up the sort of statistics that were expected of him. The team hadn’t exactly been doing an incredible job of putting him in advantageous positions to produce. They managed it just enough, however, this past Saturday.
The second-year wide receiver needed only four catches to produce 195 yards of offense. He found the end zone twice, which marked a first in his career. Were it not for a huge game by the Cleveland Browns’ Amari Cooper, he might have earned Offensive Player of the Week honors. So what was the key to his big day?
“We got him the ball with fluidity”, head coach Mike Tomlin said during his Tuesday weekly press conference, according to video of the media session at the team’s website. “We got him in some one-on-one circumstances, and his talent showed”.
Getting Pickens the ball, with fluidity or otherwise, has been rather a struggle. They did target him six times on only 27 pass attempts in the last game, however. The only other player with as many targets was RB Jaylen Warren, largely on checkdowns.
Volume isn’t always enough, though. He was targeted seven times a week earlier on just 26 pass attempts for the team, and that only yielded three catches for 47 yards. Not a horrible game by any means, but certainly not fluid.
The point is, Pickens showed what he could do in closer-to-ideal circumstances when the offense is able to repeatedly put him in winning situations. On this occasion, that was partly dictated by defensive coverage, as the Bengals looked to take away the middle of the field.
But quality of quarterback play, play selection, and route variety were all part of it as well. There’s no question that he got more quality opportunities this past week than he had been in any given week for most of the season.
One wonders what the entire situation would look like if the Steelers had an offense that was able to consistently allow Pickens to produce. Or rather to give him the opportunities to produce because there have been times when he’s failed to execute. Including multiple opportunities for touchdowns that he failed to complete. Not that they were easy plays, but when you say you’re the best in the world, you raise the expectations for yourself.
We will have to find out if the Steelers can put together an offense competent enough in 2024 to keep Pickens happy and making plays. The last time out was a taste of what he could do at his best. I think we all agree that it was delicious. But is anybody confident there’s a second helping coming?
