The Pittsburgh Steelers put up another ugly playoff performance in their 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills. They spotted the Bills 21 unanswered points to start the game, which was enough of a buffer to quell off the Steelers’ late comeback attempt.
WR George Pickens was visibly frustrated late in the game, slamming his helmet to the ground after a no-call on fourth down. Pickens tried to break inside at the top of his route and was held around the waist as he couldn’t quite get to the ball, and it fell incomplete for a turnover on downs. He was looking for the penalty flag for holding or pass interference but got no such luck.
After the game, Pickens spoke to members of the Pittsburgh media in the locker room and further vented his frustrations.
“You can’t play the Bills and the refs at the same time,” Pickens said in a clip posted on X by Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. “You out there, and you’re trying to make the plays you are personally and then they just take away calls.”
It wasn’t just his no-call that he was upset about, as he referenced other plays in the game, like the defensive holding called on Myles Jack. They initially appeared to be conferring whether it was a pass interference, but that wouldn’t have held up because it was uncatchable. They landed on defensive holding on a critical down.
“Clear pass over Myles Jack’s head. They called it PI, it’s not catchable,” Pickens continued.
Criticizing referees should result in a fine for Pickens in a season where he has been highly fined by the NFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers, per a report that surfaced before the game.
It has been a rough season for Pickens, with multiple maturity issues on and off the field, and this will serve as the latest example.
Pickens finished his first playoff game with five receptions on 11 targets for 50 yards. In the final game of the regular season, he touched the ball just once on a run play. To be fair to him, his frustrations had less to do with his involvement or performance in this game and more to do with the officiating, but as he will learn shortly, there is a cost to that.
