Without George Pickens, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ passing-game has little chance for success. They felt that during the three games he missed with a hamstring injury. Though healthy last night, all Pickens did was hamstring the offense. Following the worst performance of his career and one of the worst receiver outings in recent memory, former NFL player Kyle Long laid into Pickens for playing small in a game the Steelers needed to win in a big way.
“It’s been something I’ve been chewing on all year, that their most talented player is their most unpredictable player,” Long said on Sunday morning’s That Other Pregame Show. “And in the biggest moments, in the biggest games with the brightest lights, George Pickens fails to show up. One reception, zero yards, two drops in a in a gotta-have-it game against a divisional opponent. It has been pull your hair out, frustrating all season long.”
Pickens caught a screen pass on the Steelers’ second play of the game, failing to gain a yard. It would be his only reception of the game. Not for a lack of prime chances. Pickens dropped two passes over the middle and a third downfield grabbed uncharacteristically was knocked out of his hands. One final chance to save face wasn’t dropped but missed, QB Russell Wilson and Pickens not on the same page on a double-move down the right sideline in the waning moments. Pickens wide open but unable to haul in the throw that would’ve put Pittsburgh in position to kick a game-winning field goal.
After the game, Bengals’ players chirped at Pickens and the Steelers’ offense, celebrating shutting down Pittsburgh’s top receiver as Steelers wide outs caught just five passes the entire night. TE Pat Freiermuth led the way with eight grabs, becoming the first tight end to lead Pittsburgh in receptions in a season since Heath Miller in 2012. Meanwhile, Pickens’ six-target, zero-yard stat line was a team-first.
In the headlines for the wrong reasons as often as he is for the right ones, his quick temper was on display all season. Frustrations that not only rattle himself but impact the team, as Long believes based on his long NFL career.
“If you tell me that that doesn’t have an impact on the rest of the team, you’re dead wrong. Brock [Vereen] and I have been on teams together in the NFL where certain stars don’t show up or they can’t be counted on to behave a certain way. And that’s no recipe for success in the National Football League.”
It’s clearly no recipe for success for Pittsburgh who become the first 10-win team to drop their final four regular season games since the 1986 New York Jets. Replicating even what that team did, a Wild Card win, feels like a mountain of a task. Pickens and the passing attack will have to be substantially better, odds that seem long at this point.
“George Pickens, again, just doesn’t show up,” Long said.
It creates an uncertain future for Pickens. Eligible for a contract extension and likely wanting a sizeable deal, Pickens could make plenty of noise this offseason. Skipping the spring is a real possibility as is holding in during training camp. And who knows how he handles things on social media. It could get loud off the field. A stark change from Saturday night where Pickens play was nothing but quiet.
