Things went from bad to worse in the second half of the Christmas Day game for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Kansas City Chiefs, particularly on offense.
In an attempt to get back into a 29-10 game, the Steelers’ offense started to drive down the field. But on Kansas City’s side of the field, self-inflicted mistakes by the Steelers’ offense stalled what looked like a strong drive, leading to third-year wide receiver George Pickens blowing a gasket — and rightfully so.
On a second and 10 completion from QB Russell Wilson to Pickens that moved the chains for a gain of 18 yards, it looked like the Steelers were going to put points on the board. But a flag for offensive offsides — yes, really — on tight end Connor Heyward negated the completion to Pickens, frustrating the young receiver.
On the next play, Wilson had a pass attempt to Pickens batted at the line of scrimmage on which Pickens was open. Then to cap off the ugly sequence, on a 4th and 15, Pickens and Wilson were called for false start after rookie center Zach Frazier didn’t snap the football.
That flag led to Pickens ripping his helmet off and screaming at the Steelers’ sideline in frustration, which was a good summation of the day and how Steelers fan in attendance had to feel, too.
Here’s the whole sequence of frustrations from Pickens. Again, it’s largely warranted with the way the Steelers’ offense performed on Christmas Day.
Then, on the very next series after being unable to pull in a one-handed reception along the Steelers’ sideline, Pickens could be heard on the hot mics voicing his frustrations, though it was unclear what he was saying.
After missing the past three games with a hamstring injury, Pickens was eager to get back onto the field for the Black and Gold. He made a big play early in the game, hauling in a 41-yard pass from Wilson to spark the Steelers’ offense. But after that, Pickens was held to just two catches for nine yards, had one play blown dead too early where he was clearly still fighting forward and broke free, and then wasn’t able to really produce after that.
Prior to being injured entering Week 14 against the Cleveland Browns, Pickens was a big-time weapon for the Steelers, averaging 15.5 yards per reception and drawing quite a bit of attention. That was again the case on Christmas Day against the Chiefs.
But with the team struggling offensively and making mistake after mistake, Pickens let his emotions get the best of him, ripping his helmet off twice to say something to the Steelers’ sideline.
