It has been an interesting season for WR George Pickens. After a rookie season with flashes of immense potential, this had all the makings of a breakout year for him. It started out that way, too. In the first six games of his season he had three games with over 100 yards and had a pair of touchdowns. From that point on, he didn’t cross the 100-yard mark until Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The long stretch in between those two games was rough. He wasn’t getting involved as much as his talent warranted and he wasn’t doing a good job hiding his frustration over it.
That situation reached a boiling point after Pickens opted to not block for Jaylen Warren near the end zone against the Indianapolis Colts. People were wondering if Mike Tomlin had lost the locker room and most wanted to see Pickens benched to send a message. Tomlin opted to play Pickens in a then-controversial move, citing his skill set as the reason why. Ultimately the Steelers were still in the playoff hunt and needed a playmaker like Pickens if they wanted any chance to qualify.
In hindsight that was the correct decision, and Pickens rewarded the Steelers right away with a four-reception, 195-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Bengals in Week 16. Tomlin was asked about Pickens’ maturation process during his Tuesday press conference ahead of the Steelers’ wild-card playoff game on Sunday.
“I hadn’t really been looking for it of late,” Tomlin said in via video posted on the Steelers’ YouTube page. “We gotta play and play to win. He’s done that, and we need more of that from him this week.”
Tomlin more or less avoided the question, staying focused on the task at hand. It is worth noting that Pickens received zero targets against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18. He touched the ball once on a handoff, but otherwise wasn’t heavily involved. Even though he didn’t play a big role in the win, he went live on Instagram after the game and could be seen dancing and celebrating with his teammates.
Pickens told the media in the midst of the negative attention a few weeks ago that the losing is what frustrates him. His positive attitude after the Ravens game in which he wasn’t involved could be evidence of that.
“We’ve dealt with that a lot over the years, having dynamic receivers and when people make a commitment to minimize someone in that way, it creates big-time opportunities for others,” Tomlin said when asked how the team is dealing with Pickens getting extra attention from opposing defenses. “Whether it’s your yards per tote in the run game, or one-on-one opportunities at other places, and I think both were evident throughout the [Ravens] game and probably would’ve been more evident if it wasn’t for the weather.”
The Steelers did take advantage on Saturday with a steady rushing attack led by RB Najee Harris and a 71-yard touchdown pass from QB Mason Rudolph to WR Diontae Johnson. The Buffalo Bills will probably take a page from that playbook in paying extra attention to Pickens as his connection with Rudolph has been a driving force of the Steelers’ three-game win streak. This will open up more opportunities for other guys like Johnson, Allen Robinson II, Pat Freiermuth, and the running game.
