Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens appeared to be manifesting a huge performance in Week 5, with the message “open [expletive] always” written on his eye black.
Unfortunately, that was not the case as the game progressed and the Steelers star finished with just 26 receiving yards against the Dallas Cowboys. Although, the real head-scratcher after Pittsburgh’s 20-17 loss was Pickens’ snap count — which appeared to be limited by the coaching staff on Sunday night.
“We just wanted to kind of minimize his reps in an effort to get more productivity,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game, addressing a question on Pickens’ usage, or lack thereof.
Coach Tomlin speaks to the media after our game against the Cowboys.
“We’re just trying to rep manage in terms of the totality of the big picture,” he continued. “[Pickens] wasn’t less of a focal point in terms of our intentions of what we wanted to do offensively, but we did want to cut his reps a little bit in an effort to get higher-quality play.”
When a follow-up question asked whether the Steelers coaching staff felt Pickens wasn’t playing up to the quality that he should have been, Tomlin compared the situation to the rotational usage of veteran defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, stating that the wideout’s time on the bench was “no different” from that.
Tomlin stressed that there is no “underlying story” when it comes to Pickens.
Per Steelers Depot, Pickens played “34 of 58 snaps” against the Cowboys, while fellow wide receiver Van Jefferson was on the field for 47 of 58 offensive snaps. During the second half, Pickens inexplicably spent an entire offensive drive on the bench.
Steelers Fans React to George Pickens’ Usage vs. Cowboys
Fans and the media criticized Pittsburgh for sitting Pickens even though he’s the most talented wide receiver the Steelers have by wide margin.
“If you’re going to bench George Pickens with this WR corps, I can’t help you,” Behind the Steel Curtain editor Kate Magdziuk weighed in on X. “Discipline him after the game, we got 4-1 to do.”
Others criticized Tomlin for his response in the postgame interview.
“The George Pickens explanation is absolutely terrible,” one fan wrote. “‘We wanted to cut his reps to in an effort to get more productivity.’ WHAT?!?!? SO HE CAN MAKE MORE PLAYS ON THE BENCH?!?!”
While another Pittsburgh supporter commented: “I’m guessing he’s in Tomlin’s dog house and Tomlin just made that up 🤷🏻♂️ No reason for your best and damn near only WR to play limited snaps.”
One fan appeared to side with the Steelers’ actions, but not Tomlin’s explanation.
“Shoulda put Pickens on blast and said he benched GP cause he has attitude issues and he’s not getting it done,” the user posted.
If Pickens was indeed disciplined and benched, the decision would once again prove that no player is above the Steelers way, a culture Tomlin has spent years cultivating and enforcing.
Justin Fields Finished Strong After Slow Start vs. Cowboys, But Steelers Come up Just Short Once Again
As for quarterback Justin Fields, his final numbers against the Cowboys were respectable despite an awful first half. This is becoming a growing theme for the current Steelers QB1.
Fields completed 15 of 27 pass attempts on Sunday night for just 131 yards. He did have 2 touchdowns through the air, with both coming during the second half.
As usual, Fields also contributed on the ground with 27 rushing yards on 6 carries. He earned a passer rating of 93.3, according to ESPN and avoided turning the ball over despite a few close calls — there were at least two or three dropped interceptions and there was one strip-sack fumble that Fields recovered himself.
The Steelers offense was also more methodical than explosive versus Dallas. The longest reception went for 21 yards (Pickens), while Najee Harris and the run game never really got going averaging just 3.0 yards per carry.
It remains to be seen whether Fields will continue on as the starting quarterback for the Week 6 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.
