Last time they played, George Pickens fanned the flames of the rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. After the Steelers’ 24-19 loss, he made it clear that he doesn’t think the Browns are a good team, and that the weather helped them win. Expect the Browns to remember that comment Sunday.
“He played in the same snow,” Browns DE Myles Garrett said Friday via the team’s YouTube channel. “I don’t see how it was any benefit to us more than them. We could be a better team on record, but we were good enough on that day and we have to be good enough on Sunday. That’s all that matters.”
It’s tough to say that Garrett is wrong. Pickens blamed the weather for the Steelers’ loss, but that wasn’t the only deciding factor. The Steelers didn’t play good football for most of that game. The Browns did just fine in those same conditions.
To the victor goes the spoils. Garrett made his own big statement after that last game, but the difference is that his play on the field backed up what he said. He, and the Browns, walked the walk. It’s true that the Steelers are a better team than the Browns, but that doesn’t guarantee victory. The Browns outplayed the Steelers on Nov. 21.
Garrett had some other comments about Pickens and how the Browns’ defensive backs performed against him in Cleveland.
“I think they did a great job to contain him and look forward to the matchup with him on the outside again,” the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year said. “He’s definitely a competitor. He’s good at what he does, and so are we on the backend and they look forward to matching up with their wide receivers every time.”
Competitiveness is a big part of Pickens’ personality. That can be seen any time he has an outburst on the field. He’s an emotional player, but that’s because he wants to contribute to winning football. However, that doesn’t mean he can continue to act with so much immaturity.
Pickens is probably going to be tested on that front Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. Garrett is correct that the Browns’ defensive backs are probably looking forward to seeing Pickens. The two sides have been trading verbal jabs through the media, so things could come to a head in this game.
This time, whether the Steelers win or lose, hopefully no one blames the weather or other outside factors. There’s just no reason to do that. Both teams have to deal with the same conditions. The better team will be the one that comes out victorious. Hopefully that’s the Steelers, but they have to put forth a better effort than they did last time.
