The Pittsburgh Steelers have been going through a rough stretch over the last couple of weeks. They have dropped two straight contests, with their latest loss coming at home against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Pittsburgh can still get back on track as they sit at second in the AFC North with a 3-2 record, but the issues on offense have been concerning. The unit clearly needs help at wide receiver, and George Pickens showed little effort in the loss to Dallas.
Pickens had a strong showing in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts where he recorded his first 100-yard game of the new season, but he regressed severely during the Sunday night showdown with the Cowboys. He hauled in just three passes on seven targets, and his snap count saw a reduction. Many fans questioned why the team’s best receiver was off the field so much in Week 5, and Head Coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that there wasn’t an underlying story involved. The team was simply trying to rest the receiver to get more production out of him when he was on the field.
On the plays where Pickens was on the field, the wide receiver seemed to be jogging half the time and showed little to no effort. Tomlin was asked whether or not he had any issues with the play of his star receiver or the messaging he had on his EyeBlack during his press conference on Tuesday.
“Um, again, I don’t know what messaging you’re talking about regarding his EyeBlack. I didn’t have any outlying issue with his effort. As I mentioned after the game, I think someone asked about a reduction in his total number of snaps – it’s just a snap management thing in an effort to be more productive. In today’s game regarding analytics, we do it across a lot of positions.”
During the game, the third-year receiver had an expletive written on his EyeBlack when he first took the field, but later in the contest, he wasn’t wearing it anymore. It was obvious the coaching staff would have an issue with it, but Tomlin acted oblivious when asked about it. The bigger problem was Pickens’ lack of effort, and Tomlin having zero issue with it.
With Pickens being on the field for a small amount of snaps, many might think that the receiver would make those reps count and work as hard as possible to produce. That wasn’t the case with Pickens on Sunday night. There were many instances where he was seen jogging through his routes and seeming to not care at all.
This is an issue from any player in the NFL, but even more so with Pickens since he has a history of behavior like this. During the 2023 season, there were multiple instances where he would give up on a play or not block for his teammates. It’s almost like he checks out if he knows he isn’t getting the ball.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Must Hold George Pickens Accountable
Tomlin has been coaching for a long time, and he knows better than to call out a player like Pickens during a press conference. Surely the experienced head coach will hold Pickens accountable behind closed doors. He even said this while speaking to the media on Tuesday. If there is ever an issue with a player, it will be handled between him and the player and it would be unnecessary to make the situation public. However, it is not a good look for Tomlin to come out and basically say that the effort that was seen from Pickens on Sunday night is acceptable.
Tomlin has dealt with receivers with large egos throughout his time with the Steelers, most notably Antonio Brown. At the moment, the effort of Pickens is worrisome, but Tomlin should be able to get the situation under control.
Do you take any issue with Tomlin’s statement?
