It was hard enough for Pittsburgh Steelers fans to watch their team suffer a 28-31 road loss to a depleted Chicago Bears team, but George Pickens' monstrous performance with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12 only added insult to injury.
Dallas went toe-to-toe with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, and Pickens had a career game against one of the league's most talented defenses. The former Steelers receiver caught all nine targets from quarterback Dak Prescott and turned his opportunities into 146 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a run of spectacular performances from the Steelers' former second-round pick and number one receiver.
Pickens has now topped 130 receiving yards in four of his last eight games. Over his most recent two performances, the talented wideout has recorded 18 receptions on 20 targets for 290 yards and two touchdowns. During this span, Prescott has a 152.0 passer rating targeting Pickens.
If watching Pickens dominate again in Week 12 wasn't bad enough, Steelers fans were left witnessing DK Metcalf—the team's pricey wide receiver investment during the 2025 offseason—record five catches on eight targets for a mere 22 yards against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Now fans are left questioning everything about this team... but the underlying issue is obvious.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have an offensive philosophy problem
Losing George Pickens isn't the biggest issue here. While we all knew Pickens was immensely talented before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys, we also knew that something needed to be done. Over his final four games with the Steelers, Pickens caught just 11 passes on 26 targets for 172 yards (6.6 yards per target) and a touchdown.
Likewise, DK Metcalf has seemingly gotten worse since coming to Pittsburgh. At 27 years old, in what should be the prime of his NFL career, the two-time Pro Bowler is on pace for a career low in receptions (65) and receiving yards (886).
The Steelers need to get better play from the quarterback position, and it doesn't help that there aren't any other wide receivers on the team who can alleviate pressure from Metcalf. But the biggest issue is obvious: there's a serious philosophy issue on offense.
Just like he has since Ben Roethlisberger retired, Mike Tomlin refuses to use the middle of the field consistently. Whether it's Arthur Smith calling the plays the past two years or Matt Canada in the three seasons before that, the Steelers' passing concepts are designed to minimise risks while keeping the ball out of harm's way.
READ MORE: The winner of Steelers-Cowboys George Pickens trade just became crystal clear
Unfortunately, this makes for a lot of low-upside throws—screen passes, dump-offs to the flats, and hitch routes barely past the line of scrimmage. When the Steelers do take a shot down the field, it's normally down the sideline in one-on-one situations; not down the seam or on deep posts over the middle of the field.
The proof is in the pudding.
Just look at Pickens' receiving charts this season with the Cowboys from Next Gen Stats. Head coach and play-caller Brian Schottenheimer has an offense designed to go over the middle of the field. In comparison, if you examine Pickens' receiving charts from previous seasons with the Steelers, you'll notice that the Steelers were reluctant to use him over the middle.
It's extremely disheartening watching George Pickens have an All-Pro-caliber season in his first year with the Dallas Cowboys. But we need to understand that Pickens wouldn't have nearly the same production had he remained in Pittsburgh.
There are deeply-rooted problems on offense, and it starts with Mike Tomlin's conservative philosophy in the passing game.