Terrell Owens is taking aim at Pittsburgh Steelers WR George Pickens for a crucial mistake that led to a costly result in Wednesday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Replying to a tweet about DT Cam Heyward telling reporters if one player doesn’t do his job, “we are screwed,” Owens flipped that to the Steelers’ offense and QB Russell Wilson’s end zone interception.
“Same on offense as well when you got #14 not running his routes causing INTs,” Owens tweeted.
That’s in reference to Wilson’s interception in the first half of the Steelers’ Christmas Day loss. One play after a RB Jaylen Warren touchdown was taken off the board thanks to a hold on TE Darnell Washington, Wilson threw deep for TE Pat Freiermuth in the end zone. But backside safety Justin Reid didn’t move off his spot and jumped the route, picking the pass off.
Further examination of the play and post-game confirmation from Wilson showed Pickens was supposed to run vertically in an attempt to hold the backside safety. Instead, Pickens sat his route down just past the line of scrimmage, turning what should’ve been four verts into three verts. The safety wasn’t conflicted and could easily jump Wilson’s throw, preserving the Chiefs’ 13-0 lead.
Here’s a look at the play from the aerial view.
It was Pickens’ first game back since missing the previous three with a hamstring injury. He made a handful of plays including a patented downfield contested catch for a 41-yard gain while he had a slant taken away due to a carless and rare offensive offsides penalty on TE Connor Heyward. Pickens finished the day with three catches for 50-yards, putting him exactly 100-away from 1,000 on the season.
Late in the game, Pickens was visibly frustrated with the Steelers’ struggles, taking his helmet off on the field after being flagged for a false start. The refs could have but didn’t flag him for removing his helmet. Post-game, Pickens seemed in a better mood, sharing this to his Instagram story.
Owens’ blame of Pickens is certainly founded. He ran the incorrect route. We’ll see if Pickens has any reaction to Owens. It’d be best for him and the rest of the roster to take a social media break for a few days, resetting to get ready for the regular season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.
