Getty Wide receiver George Pickens looks on during the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss to the New England Patriots.
George Pickens was nearly invisible during the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ embarrassing 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football.
In many ways, though, he would’ve been better off fading completely into the background rather than generating attention for his poor attitude and lackluster effort levels.
Pickens only received 2 targets from backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky in the first half, and one resulted in an interception.
He instead received the most camera time when he was getting chewed out by head coach Mike Tomlin or drawing some brutal criticisms from the Amazon Prime Video announcing team.
George Pickens’ Attitude Blasted by TNF Broadcast Team
The rising star at wide receiver is in the midst of a solid season for the Steelers, especially considering the inept play at quarterback that has plagued the team through 13 contests.
Following the continuation of Pittsburgh’s struggles on Thursdays, which dropped the team’s record to 7-6 and moved it outside the AFC playoff picture, he’s recorded 49 receptions for 767 yards and three touchdowns. That’s coming on the heels of a rookie campaign in which he hauled in 52 passes for 801 yards and four scores to justify the second-round selection used on him after the conclusion of his Georgia career.
But Pickens was a complete non-factor Thursday night, more notable for his listless blocking efforts on run plays and failure to complete routes than his actual touches. When the final whistle blew, he’d put up five catches for just 19 yards—his second-lowest yardage tally of the season.
Chuck Noll would’ve had George Pickens running laps at halftime with an effort like this while the Steelers were losing 21-3 in the 2nd QTR.
“He’s kind of taking the play off,” Kirk Herbstreit said about one such failure to engage in a high-effort block while sharing the Amazon Prime Video booth with Al Michaels. “I think it sends a message to me, to your team. I look at receivers when it comes to their willingness to block and the effort that they’re willing to put forth. It kind of represents the pulse of the team. Bad look.”
It’s by no means the first time this season Pickens has failed to set the right tone for his teammates as an uninvolved run-blocker.
But troublingly, that wasn’t the only moment that drew justified criticism.
Two quarters later, body language issues again surfaced for the second-year target.
George Pickens is going through it.
Maybe those histrionics are somewhat justified given the putridity of the Steelers’ offensive performance and the importance of the failed fourth-down conversion that prompted the reaction. Passion for the game is commendable, after all. But on the heels of limited effort levels and sideline displeasure throughout the contest, Pickens’ display in the end zone felt more self-serving than anything else.
Especially because he’d already had a conversation with Tomlin at that point.
Mike Tomlin Clearly Lectured George Pickens During the 3rd Quarter
Between the attention-drawing lack of run-blocking effort in the second quarter and the over-the-top gesticulations in the final period, Pickens received an earful from his head coach.
Fans probably won’t have the luxury of learning exactly what was said by either the player or the coach, though the broadcast certainly speculated about the contents.
“[Tomlin is] just communicating how important it is for [Pickens] to show some maturity and to just keep fighting to be a part of what this offense is trying to do,” Herbstreit explained.
Is apathy understandable? Perhaps to some extent. Pickens is clearly a tremendously talented wide receiver with commendable levels of athleticism, great hands and a proper understanding of how to high-point a football.
He’s already been quite productive in his young NFL career, and it often feels that Pittsburgh is wasting his talents by refusing to give him opportunities down the field, limiting his route trees and putting unqualified quarterbacks under center.
It’s also not insignificant that teammates have had his back amidst the negative headlines.
“He’s probably frustrated,” fellow receiver Diontae Johnson said, per Steelers Now. “My job is to just tell him to keep his head in the game. You can’t let one bad play define the game for you. Once you do that, you take yourself out of the game. I’m always there for him and trying to keep his head in the game. You have to keep his energy up. We need him. When his energy comes down, he doesn’t make those plays anymore.”
But making yourself the story isn’t ideal. Nor is compounding the offense-wide frustrations rather than doing everything in your power to break the cycle.
For the sake of both Pickens and his team, he’ll have to work harder to make sure this is but a blip in a career trending in the right direction rather than a defining moment that overshadows his upside and prior production.