Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens was not convinced that the better team won last Thursday in Cleveland. Or at least, he doesn’t think that the Cleveland Browns are very good—at all. Perhaps they’re not, but, in Pickens’ mind, they managed to sneak one by the Steelers due to the inclement weather.
Specifically, it snowed profusely throughout the second half in Cleveland, the Browns emerging victorious. But that was not before blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead, in the snow. Pickens said he believes the weather is the reasons the Browns beat the Steelers. Fellow Steeler Miles Killebrew shared his thoughts on 93.7 The Fan when asked about the remarks.
“Well, we weren’t playing the conditions, we were playing the Browns, and they won the game, and we didn’t”, Killebrew said. “At the end of the day, that’s his opinion. He feels as though maybe the Browns aren’t that good of a team”.
Killebrew shared a saying from special teams coordinator Danny Smith, who always reminds his players that it doesn’t matter which team is better, only which team plays better on the day. Of course, George Pickens doesn’t play much special teams for the Steelers.
“The fact of the matter stands that they played a better game than we did on Thursday. So whether or not they’re the better team, I’ll leave that to critics and to people who have maybe better opinions than I do on that like George [Pickens]”, Killebrew said, drawing laughs with the last remark. “But it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. They beat us, so that’s what it is”.
In George Pickens’ mind, and perhaps this is a good thing, he has never lost a game because the other team was better. There is always another reason to explain why the outcome didn’t fall in the Steelers’ favor. To some degree, this is simply the mind of an elite athlete, which goes hand-in-hand with the utmost belief in your abilities.
Nevertheless, it’s also true that Pickens rarely does himself or the Steelers any favors with his comments. And it’s particularly out of character for a player on a Pittsburgh team to blame inclement weather for a loss. The Steelers play in an open stadium and have for their entire existence. They understand that sometimes it’s going to snow. In theory, they are supposed to view a snow game as an advantage for them.
And that is no less true of this Steelers team, which paints itself as a smashmouth unit. The only problem is they’re not smashing nearly as much as they would like. Yes, George Pickens and the passing game might benefit from playing in a dome. But the Steelers on an organizational level build an identity around winning games like ones in Cleveland. To say they lost because it was that kind of game, some might say, is to say the Steelers aren’t the Steelers.
