Shortly after his 36-yard catch down the right sideline to set the Pittsburgh Steelers up with a 1st and 10 at the Cincinnati Bengals’ 13-yard line, wide receiver George Pickens made a gesture toward the stands.
It appeared to be Pickens firing a gun, which drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, turning what was a 36-yard gain to the 13 into a 1st and 10 at the Bengals’ 28-yard line. Three plays later, the Bengals blocked a Chris Boswell field goal, turning a bad Pickens penalty — his second of the game — into a disastrous one.
After the Steelers beat the Bengals, 44-38, head coach Mike Tomlin stated to the media that Pickens needs to grow up in a hurry after the costly penalties hindered the Steelers.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Pickens stated he was signaling first down, but the officials said they thought it was something else, leading to the flag.
“Yeah, they said they got the gesture wrong, you know what I mean? Thought it was something else. You can’t hurt the team,” Pickens said of the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that cost the Steelers. “I never intend to hurt the team, but he just thought the gesture was different.”
Asked what the gesture was, Pickens said, “Oh, I’m not sure. I was doing first down. He stated he thought something else.”
Here’s the gesture that led to the flag.
Maybe that is true and the officials thought it was one thing when George Pickens was signaling first down, or what he believes was first down, even though it looks like he was firing a gun. But the easy answer there is that Pickens just doesn’t need to do any gestures or celebrations after a big play. Just move on to the next one and know the moment.
That’s part of growing up and maturating. Pickens is still in that process. Growth and maturation are not linear, and Pickens is the clearest example of that. He’s had some tough moments this season, but he’s shown quite a bit of growth, too.
The last two weeks, though. that growth and maturity has seemingly stalled, especially after his scuffle on the Hail Mary in Week 12, his comments to the media immediately after the loss to the Browns, and then his two taunting penalties Sunday in Cincinnati.
It’s an emotional game, and players are allowed to wear their emotions on their sleeves. But Pickens has to be better in those moments. As Tomlin said, he needs to grow up — and fast.
