Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens had one of his best games of the season in the team’s 37-15 win over the New York Jets, a game where Pickens was often matched up against CB Sauce Gardner. Pickens finished with 5 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown in the win, and Gardner often covered him. Despite his strong performance going up against one of the best corners in the league in Gardner, who Pickens drew a key pass interference penalty against, he said it wasn’t “extra special” and that he wants to play that way against every defensive back.
“I wouldn’t say extra special. A lot of guys are good around the league. It’s a lot of good players. Just because we’re playing him doesn’t mean you get super, super excited. I wanna do that to every DB,” Pickens said via Steelers.com
Pickens has had an up-an-down start to the season, but in the first game with Russell Wilson under center, Sunday was a good day for Pickens. It was good to see Pickens and Wilson build a rapport early in the season.
One of Pickens’ 5 catches on Sunday night was one of the better catches he’s made all year, grabbing an underthrown ball and juggling it basically the whole time before pulling it down for a 37-yard gain.
“Just concentration. For a minute, he had it. For a minute, I had it. Bounced up on the air, got my eyes back on it, made the catch,” Pickens said about the play he made over CB Isaiah Oliver.
It’s the type of game that the Steelers are going to need from Pickens throughout the season, and if he can continue to grow chemistry with Wilson, he’ll be able to put up a good performance against any defensive back. Pickens’ talent has never been a question. It’s just been about his consistency and ability to make plays when the ball comes his way and contributing to the team’s efforts and not worrying about himself as an individual as much.
If Pickens continues to play the way he did on Sunday, the Steelers’ offense is going to be good. It was good on Sunday, with both the run game and the passing attack working. Pickens was a huge part of getting the offense going early, as well as their overall success on the night. He can be one of the best receivers in football, and the move to start Wilson could be one that winds up really benefitting Pickens down the stretch and helps him put on a clinic against DBs around the league.
