The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t score a touchdown in their first game of the year, but George Pickens did his best to change that. At the end of the first half, the Steelers had a great play call that saw Justin Fields connect with Pickens, allowing the team to kick a field goal going into halftime. However, he didn’t mean to step out of bounds and stop the clock, which could have cost the Steelers those three points.
After practice on Wednesday, Pickens explained why he tried not to step out of bounds despite there only being seconds left on the clock.
“I was aware of how much time was left,” Pickens said via Steelers Live on Twitter. “I thought [Jessie] Bates was the last man and then A.J. [Terrell] kept hustling and did his job, followed the play through. I didn’t see him behind me, but I thought Bates was the last guy. Tried to get in the endzone right before the half was up, but luckily, I stepped out of bounds.”
That answer does help explain what Pickens was thinking, but it doesn’t really make what he did right. The ball was snapped with only nine seconds left, and the Steelers weren’t really in a position to have more than one play left. By the time the ball hit Pickens’ hands, there were only four seconds left, which really meant there wasn’t time for a second play.
From Pickens’ point of view, it’s not a terrible idea. The Steelers were struggling offensively, and he wanted to make a difference. From his perspective, it looked like he had a clear path to the endzone if he got past Bates. However, he needs to be more aware of the situation.
At that point, the Falcons were leading the game 10-6. The Steelers were going to get the ball to start the second half, so any points they got there would be a tremendous help. They didn’t need a touchdown, especially with how well Chris Boswell was playing. Luckily, Pickens stepped out of bounds and saved the Steelers a headache.
It’s not as big of a problem because the Steelers won, but hopefully, it helped Pickens learn a lesson. There’s a time and place to be a hero. Making that play and getting out of bounds was good enough. Thankfully, this is a case of no harm, no foul. We’ll see in the future if his game awareness sharpens in those moments.
