We've now witnessed two straight games without George Pickens taking the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers and fans have already seen enough. The absence of Pickens in Week 14 wasn't too great to overcome against a now 3-11 Browns team, but this was anything but the case against the Eagles in Week 15.
Though we need to give Philadelphia their flowers for playing a great game at home when the Steelers were in town, Russell Wilson's offense couldn't move the football without their top weapon. With no go-to wide receiver who could create space and make plays routinely, the Eagles were able to stack the box and make Pittsburgh's rushing attack irrelevant.
By the end of the one-sided contest, the Steelers managed a dismal 163 yards of offense compared to 401 yards for the Eagles while Philly nearly doubled Pittsburgh in time of possession. With no reliable option to turn to, Wilson finished the game completing 14 of 22 passes for 128 yards — a mere 5.8 yards per attempt.
This offenses incompetency without Pickens had a ripple effect on the Steelers' defense.
Pittsburgh began the game with three straight three-and-outs. On their fourth drive, the Steelers went backward — netting negative eight yards on four plays. They were back to another three-and-out on their next possession.
Mike Tomlin's team shamefully netted negative -19 yards in their first five possessions of the game, and Pittsburgh's utter lack of ball control forced the defense to be overworked from the gate.
Last week, the numbers weren't quite so egregious, but against a bad Browns team, the Steelers failed to win the time of possession battle and the yardage battle. Now in two games without Pickens, Pittsburgh is averaging a disgusting 215 total yards and a sickening 25:04 time of possession per game (out of 60:00).
Steelers' offense can't function without George Pickens
Statistically, the worst total offense in the league entering Week 15 is the Chicago Bears, as they average just 288.2 yards of offense per game (narrowly falling behind the Carolina Panthers at 288.9). When you put this into perspective, 215 yards per game over the last two contests is inexcusable.
Furthermore, the worst team in terms of time of possession per game is the Indianapolis Colts at 26:41 per contest. The Steelers have a minute-and-a-half less time of possession per game compared to the 32nd-ranked team in this department when Pickens doesn't play.
While we have only seen a two-game sample without Pittsburgh's top offensive weapon, the results have been worse than anyone could have imagined. Unfortunately, the Steelers' Super Bowl hopes hinge entirely on the health of Pickens.
The star receiver suffered a hamstring injury just days before the Browns game. We quickly learned that this was a Grade 2 hamstring strain and he was instantly listed as doubtful against the Eagles (a game he would ultimately miss).
We've seen these injuries occur to other NFL receivers just this year. Both Texans' Nico Collins and Buccaneers' Mike Evans missed a minimum of three games with the same ailment. Collins missed a five-game stretch with this injury from Week 6 to Week 10, and Houston went just 2-3 without him.
You're not going to win many football games if you can't move the ball or keep your offense on the field for a respectable amount of time. Pickens' hamstring injury has been a nightmare Steelers fans are dying to wake up from.
With the Steelers clinching a playoff spot thanks to outside help in Week 15, the only focus right now should be on getting Pickens healthy and back up to speed for whoever Pittsburgh will face in the Wild Card round of the postseason. Entering the tournament won't mean much if the Steelers don't have their only cog that makes the offense run.
Based on the small sample we've seen without him, the Steelers wouldn't stand a shot to compete for a Super Bowl if George Pickens doesn't get healthy soon.