The litany of bad losses suffered by the Dallas Cowboys here in the first two years of the Brian Schottenheimer coaching tenure is getting uncomfortably long, but what happened Thursday against the Buccaneers probably will shoot to the top of list because of the circumstances–rookie undrafted quarterback making his second start, an 0-4 team, at AT&T Stadium, coming off a win for a team seeking momentum, Thursday night on the national NFL stage … it was all set up for a win. It was also set up nicely, finally, for receiver George Pickens, who went for nine catches, 130 yards and a touchdown in the game.
It was the first big game of 2026 for Pickens, who had impressed teammates and coaches for his team focus even as his own numbers slipped.
Said Dak Prescott last week, when asked about Pickens’ attitude despite the poor personal numbers: “He’s a hell of a teammate, and I’ve said that. And I think that shows, a guy that’s celebrating everybody else’s success, who obviously wants success, but as long as the team wins and he’s doing his job, he’s happy,”
George Pickens Slammed Helmet During Cowboys Loss
When the Cowboys don’t win? Well, that is a different story for George Pickens. Despite posting his best game of the year, Pickens caught attention on Thursday for how he reacted to the team’s final drive ending in an interception that bounced off the helmet of tight end Jake Ferguson. The Cowboys were trailing, 24-16, at the time and that catch would have given them a first down near the 10-yard line if Ferguson had not muffed it.
Pickens held his helmet high over his head and slammed it to the ground. The clip made the rounds on social media, but one prominent account, “Grant Reacts,” logged more than 400,000 views of the clip.
‘I Hate That’
After the game, Pickens caught up with reporter Josina Anderson in the Cowboys locker room, and explained the difficulty of the loss.
Said Pickens: “Definitely, like you said, I feel like everybody was the same way. Just, disappointed, me most definitely. I am one of the biggest competitors, so as soon as I seen them intercept the ball, I knew the Bucs was gonna try to run the clock out. That’s kinda what they did to start the game. We didn’t get the ball until the second quarter. So, I kinda knew they were gonna do that, so my frustration was just, I knew it was over and I hate that. We had them with time on the clock.”
Cowboys’ George Pickens Goes Viral for What He Did at End of Loss