Throughout the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens Saturday in the regular-season finale, the absence of second-year wide receiver George Pickens offensively for the Black and Gold was quite noticeable.
Pickens was out there the entire game, but the second-year standout receiver didn’t see a single target come his way in the game, which was played in awful conditions. In fact, Pickens had just one touch, a 3-yard run on third down in the second half that moved the chains and kept the Steelers’ drive alive.
Despite the lack of targets though, Pickens earned quite a bit of praise from quarterback Mason Rudolph.
Speaking with reporters after the win over the Ravens that improved the Steelers to 10-7 on the season, Rudolph stated that Pickens showed great maturity with his effort, attitude and commitment to the game plan.
“They double covered him most of the game. I told him I’m very proud of the way he handled that. I thought it was a very mature, team-first attitude. He wasn’t whining or asking for the ball,” Rudolph said to reporters, according to video via Steelers.com. “He knew that schematically they were trying to take him away. And I think that’s a form of flattery from a defense that they know how explosive he was.
“But he blocked hard all day, and he was excited for his teammates, and that was awesome to see.”
That is great to hear about Pickens, especially from a teammate like Rudolph.
Earlier in the season when the targets and production weren’t there for Pickens, he let his emotions get the better of him. That led to some ugly moments on the sidelines, a lack of effort in-game, and then some questionable social media antics that put him under fire from the media and the fan base.
But in recent weeks, Pickens has shown a real growth in his game and has really matured. When a player faces adversity for the first time, it’s a real challenge for them, and it can make or break them.
The adversity he found himself dealing with after the loss to the Indianapolis Colts seems to have galvanized Pickens, and that showed up on Saturday against the Ravens. To hear that praise from Rudolph regarding the second-year receiver is very encouraging. Pickens is starting to get it, especially understanding that defenses know how much of a weapon he is and that they’re going to do whatever they can to try and take him away.
That happened Saturday as the Ravens double-teamed Pickens throughout the game. It led to a big day from Diontae Johnson, and even without the ball coming his way Pickens was mixing it up in the run game, too, blocking for running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
He’s maturing quickly, and in all the right ways. The message got home a few weeks ago, and teammates are noticing. Kudos to Pickens.
