It’s the George Pickens Show in Pittsburgh. After scoring an 86-yard touchdown Saturday on the Steelers’ first pass of the game, QB Mason Rudolph connected with him again for 66-yards in the second half. The score put Pittsburgh up and in control, 31-8, answering a Cincinnati Bengals touchdown on the previous drive.
Rudolph aired it out deep on 3rd and 1, seeing and hitting one-on-one coverage. A risky play with only a yard needed but it was a beautiful touch throw, Rudolph hitting Pickens in stride for the score.
As of this writing, Pickens is up to 195 yards receiving, already the most by a Steeler since Antonio Brown had 213 back in 2017. It was the type of game Pickens needed after a string of disappointing performances and a week of controversy following his poor effort in last week’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Cincinnati had just notched its first big play of the day the drive before, QB Jake Browning hitting WR Tee Higgins for an 80-yard score minutes earlier. It made Pittsburgh’s answer critical to keep a healthy lead. It’s the first time the Steelers have scored 30 points since Week 11 last year, a 37-30 loss to the Bengals.
Rudolph is up to 279 passing yards and two touchdowns in what’s been a great performance by him.
