George Pickens was clearly not pleased with his role in the Steelers Week 13 win over the Falcons. Here’s why he was furious on the sidelines.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans are busy celebrating after their team won its second consecutive game on the road. Since the Week 9 bye, Mike Tomlin’s team is 3-1 and for really the first time all season, fans have reason to be optimistic about where this team is heading.
After a brilliant first half, Pittsburgh let of the gas over the final two quarters for a hard-fought 19-16 win. While the victory comes first, one storyline can’t go unnoticed.
Throughout this game, rookie wide receiver George Pickens was visibly frustrated by his utter lack of usage on offense. Nearly every time the camera panned over him, this could be seen through his body language.
Late in the game with Diontae Johnson struggling, Pickens was livid as he made his way to the sideline. Andrew Filipponi of 93.7 The Fan speculated at Pickens’ choice words to the coaching staff after leaving the game late.
George Pickens telling the coaches “to get him the f—king ball” after Dropson fumble pic.twitter.com/1Ns9AIeL3v
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) December 4, 2022
While we can’t confirm that these were the words coming out of his mouth, the body language from the rookie receiver says it all.
It’s understandable why Pickens was frustrated. Johnson — who recorded a team-high 11 targets, per ESPN stats — had arguably one of the worst games of his NFL career. He recorded just 60 yards and a pair of drops. Diontae also had a costly fumble that was fortunately reversed in Pittsburgh’s favor.
Pickens finished the game with just 2 targets. Only one was catchable, and it came in the second half and was clearly engineered to get the disgruntled receiver the ball.
Are Steelers going to have issues with Pickens?
One of my only knocks when it came to George Pickens as a prospect was his attitude. There were reports that some teams had him completely off their board because of character concerns and his inability to be coached. I certainly hope we aren’t starting to see that show now.
We all know that the Steelers have dealt with their share of head-cases at the receiver position, and this is the last thing they need. Though this blowup may prove to be nothing of any significance, this outburst from Pickens is certainly worth monitoring, as it didn’t exactly come out of the blue.
Whether he was getting the ball or not, George Pickens must find a better way to handle his emotion. He will be the number one receiver on this team in time — I have no doubt. But for now, the 21-year-old needs to control his emotions and show that he cares about the team’s success over his own personal production. This was a little disappointing to see.