Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans will tell you they saw this coming. Thursday Night Football was set up for a disaster. You could feel it.
Between the weather, some poor coaching decisions by Mike Tomlin and silly mistakes, Week 12 ended with the Steelers losing to their division rival Cleveland Browns thanks to a second half surge. After a fairly uneventful first half that looked like this game was going to end hitting the under, both teams came alive with a handful of scores.
But, it all came down to one final play for the Steelers offense as they were down by five. On what would be a Hail Mary attempt from quarterback Russell Wilson, one wide receiver was completely absent from the play.
Instead of being in position to make a play on the ball and try to win this game, George Pickens was far more concerned with getting into it with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome. In fact, Pickens never once paid attention to where the ball was going.
He opted to engage in a mini tussle with Newsome that went on after the final seconds ticked away. It was classic Pickens, to no one's surprise. And then, after the game, the wide receiver had the audacity to try and blame the weather for the loss.
"Conditions played a huge, huge part in today's game," he began.
George Pickens' postgame comments backfired in unsurprising fashion
For starters, Pickens saying the weather was a factor essentially made an excuse for the loss. It would also pose the question: what happens in the postseason if there were to be cold, snowy weather?
Does Pickens think his team is unfit to handle those conditions? The moment it starts snowing and the wind begins blowing, does he think these Steelers simply don't have as good a chance?
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News flash, George: the conditions affect both teams. This isn't earth-shattering information, therefore it isn't an excuse.
As if Pickens was done, there. Oh, no, he most certainly wasn't. He went on to offer a backhanded critique of the winning team:
"I don't really think the Cleveland Browns are a good team at all. I think the conditions kind of saved them today."
Once again, Pickens makes the weather excuse while also pointing out that the Browns aren't a very good football team.
More breaking news for the young wideout: the Steelers lost to this bad team. It doesn't matter his opinion on the Browns. Pittsburgh still took the loss, and that's all that matters.
This is the NFL, George. On any given day, in any given circumstance, any team can lose.
Fans' worst fears regarding Pickens just will not be alleviated. The veteran wide receiver has shown little to no growth since entering the league. Immaturity, unregulated emotions and flat-out unacceptable conduct continue to be an issue with him.