Though he still needs to get final medical clearance, it’s seeming all but certain that the Pittsburgh Steelers will get quite the Christmas gift Wednesday with the return of dynamic wide receiver George Pickens.
And not at a moment too soon, either, as Pickens’ presence will be key in combating a strong Kansas City Chiefs defense in the Christmas Day showdown.
Without him for the last three games due to a hamstring injury, the Steelers’ offense has been hit or miss. They had some good moments in Weeks 14 and 16 against the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, but in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles was a disaster. Missing Pickens, the Steelers scored just 19 points per game.
Not great.
That could all change now with a Pickens return, and it could affect the way that Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo calls a game against the Steelers. For Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin, in his Keys to the Game segment on Steelers.com with Bob Pompeani Tuesday morning, Pickens’ presence should make the Chiefs “think once or twice” about their pressure packages.
“His [Pickens] presence is big. As I mentioned, he oftentimes, affects schematics. And maybe he’ll make Spags [Spagnuolo] think once or twice about pressure, because when you’re bringing more than four up front, they’re generally one-on-one opportunities on the perimeter,” Tomlin said of Pickens’ presence and how it could affect the Chiefs, according to video via Steelers.com. “And so, it might slow down their pressure game a little bit or alter the nature of the contour of their pressure game. But that’s always the case when you have players like him.
“They played the Bengals early in the year and you’ve seen some of the effects of dynamic receivers on schematics. And so that’s something that has our attention, obviously, as we prepare.”
Not only will the possible presence of Pickens affect the schematics of the Chiefs and how and when they bring pressures, so too will the potential absence of star defensive tackle Chris Jones defensively. Jones is dealing with a calf injury that could keep him out of the Christmas Day game after he was listed as DNP Sunday and Monday by the Chiefs.
As a true game-wrecker on the interior, one that can create pressure all on his own, not having Jones’ presence could force Spagnuolo and the Chiefs to be a bit more aggressive with their pressure packages in an effort to get after Steelers’ QB Russell Wilson on Christmas.
But to do that, they might make themselves vulnerable on the outside to a player like Pickens, as Tomlin pointed out.
Throughout the season when healthy, Pickens has been a downfield threat that has won a number of one-on-one matchups, providing the Steelers with an explosive play element. That was especially true once Wilson took over as the Steelers’ starting quarterback.
Without Pickens in recent weeks, the Steelers have still generated some explosive plays in the passing game, but they’ve been few and far between. That could change Christmas Day with the return of Pickens, making life all the more difficult for the Chiefs on a short week.
Spagnuolo is arguably the best defensive coordinator in football, and one of the best in NFL history. He’ll have a plan for how to combat Pickens and the Steelers, but it will be quite interesting to see how the veteran defensive coordinator tries to scheme up pressure and avoid putting his corners and safeties in disadvantageous spots against a downfield weapon like Pickens.
