All week the belief was that the one player offensively that would be a huge beneficiary to a change at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson would be wide receiver George Pickens.
Turns out, that was case as on Sunday night in the 37-15 win over the New York Jets, Pickens finished with five receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown on nine targets, and had a 29-yard pass interference penalty in the game as well, helping spark the Steelers’ offense.
Postgame, Wilson — who threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns in the win — praised Pickens, who made some acrobatic catches on the night.
“George is so talented. He makes it easy on the quarterback, man,” Wilson told reporters, according to video via the Steelers’ Twitter page. “He just, he knows how to get open. He knows how to make plays. His ability to make contested catches is remarkable.”
For the most part, Pickens is remarkable. He makes some spectacular plays, especially in contested-catch situations.
But in recent weeks he’s really struggled and been under fire. On Sunday night, though, Pickens was locked in and was a dominant force.
It started with his 44-yard catch to give the Steelers’ struggling offense a spark.
That deep shot down the left sideline from Wilson to Pickens was the play that got the Steelers’ offense going, and was a play that Wilson praised his receiver for making, stating that the Steelers took advantage of the matchup and that Pickens made a big play in the end.
“There’s a time and place for everything. I think the good thing is we got playmakers on the left and the right, and you’re looking at assessing at everything and just those opportunities that you get. You want to give him as many chances as you can, ’cause you know, he’s gonna come down with them, you know?” Wilson said of Pickens and the splash play that got the Steelers going, according to video via Steelers.com. “So, what’s been amazing about George is I know he went through a little up and down, you know and that’s just part of this game. Sometimes is it doesn’t always go your way right away, you know? And it was cool ’cause George and I had a cool conversation a couple weeks ago. And just not giving up on stuff and just believing in himself, believing in us, believing in the journey, and just continue to do what he does best, man.
“God gave him a tremendous gift. And man, one of the things about George is man, when he catches that ball, he’s got a light to him. The whole stadium feels it. And there’s an energy to him and that’s what makes him the superstar that he is. And there’s more work to be done, and we’re gonna get better as we go.”
That’s one heck of an answer from Wilson on his top target. Pickens has gone through some stuff this year, come under fire from the media for a lack of effort, attitude and decision making. But to be able to bounce back the way he did Sunday night was remarkable to see.
The fact that it came while working with a player in Wilson whom Pickens called a real mentor and leader shouldn’t be lost, either. That’s not to say there were issues between Pickens and Justin Fields because that’s not the case at all. For Pickens, though, having that type of leader at the quarterback position like Wilson, who has been there, done that and can really throw the ball down the field, has to give Pickens a boost.
It sure seemed to on Sunday night, leading to a huge performance from the third-year receiver, which sparked the offense in the process.
