Going into this season, there was some concern that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have good enough depth at wide receiver. So far, that hasn’t been proven wrong, but George Pickens has helped make it hurt less. Pickens has been unbelievable so far, even if his stats seem light. Penalties have wiped out some of his best plays, but he’s been an impact player for the Steelers offense. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger seems impressed with Pickens as well.
During the newest episode of his podcast, Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger, that was released on Monday, Roethlisberger broke down why Pickens was better than his stat line indicates.
“I know I got on him a little bit last week for not blocking, but I’m gonna sing his praises tonight because he affected that game,” Roethlisberger said. “He only had two [catches] for 29 [yards]. He accounted for over a hundred yards because of penalties. And it could have been 150, maybe 200 yards. He got them into situations to get points. People can’t stop him.”
Roethlisberger is correct that most of Pickens’ yards didn’t count because of penalties. The biggest example came in the second quarter when Justin Fields made an incredible throw to Pickens for 51 yards. It was probably the best play of the day for the Steelers offense, but a holding call on Broderick Jones got it nullified.
The Steelers were forced to punt, and on their next drive, Pickens again had a great play called back because of a penalty. He made an acrobatic move to score a touchdown, but a questionable offensive pass interference call made it for nothing.
However, Roethlisberger is correct that Pickens still got the Steelers down the field by forcing the Broncos’ defense to commit penalties. In the third quarter, Fields took another shot to Pickens, but this one fell incomplete. However, Broncos corner Patrick Surtain II was called for defensive pass interference, giving the Steelers 37 yards.
That drive ended in a field goal for the Steelers, making the game 13-0. His stats might not show it, but a good argument could be made that Pickens won the battle against Surtain, who is one of the best corners in the NFL.
Roethlisberger chided Pickens last week for what he believed was a poor effort on a play where he was blocking, but it seems he was ready to compliment the receiver this week. Pickens has been the number one receiver the Steelers need through two weeks, and hopefully that continues. He and Fields seem to have a nice connection on deep passes. Now, the goal should be to make sure they count.
