Right before the half in Sunday’s win over the Denver Broncos, WR George Pickens seemed poised to celebrate in the end zone for the first time this season. Open in the left flat, QB Justin Fields hit him, Pickens stayed inbounds and reached across the pylon before falling for what appeared to be a 6-yard touchdown.
But it was negated by a questionable offensive pass interference call, the officials believing WR Van Jefferson interfered with a Broncos player. Alas, Pickens will have to wait.
While that penalty could’ve been frustrating, Pickens took the moment in stride.
“To be honest, it wasn’t,” Pickens said of the penalty via The Trib’s Chris Adamski. “Really, guy kind of ran into him. All you can do is play the next play.”
Here’s another look at the play. Pickens and Jefferson are stacked to the bottom. Jefferson runs a curl, Pickens to the flat. The officials believe Jefferson interfered with CB Levi Wallace, the former Steelers, and threw the flag. A fine line between a “pick” and “rub” in the NFL. The Steelers came out on the wrong side of the ref’s decision.
While short, Pickens’ answer and response showed maturity. It’s a crucial season for him with a big 2024 potentially leading to an equally large 2025 payday. The more numbers he can post, the better, and finishing the game with only two catches and 29 yards is disappointing.
But as our Wednesday film room showed, Pickens impacted the game well beyond the box score and is looking like a complete receiver. Someone who can still make spectacular catches most receivers only dream of and showing more nuance in his route running.
Winning is the cure-all and can calm any individual frustrations. Despite being the Steelers’ top target, Pittsburgh is finding ways to get him the ball and involved even after facing two tough corners in Atlanta’s A.J. Terrell and Denver’s Patrick Surtain II. Less daunting matchups will come, and Pickens feels close to breaking out for a takeover game.
