The Dallas Cowboys are fighting for their playoff lives headed into Week 14. Dallas is 6-5-1 heading into a huge Thursday Night Football matchup against Detroit. The Cowboys will need George Pickens to play well if they want to keep their winning streak alive.
ESPN published a long-form article on Thursday about Pickens' turnaround after being traded from the Steelers to the Cowboys.
One interesting nugget from the article focuses on his tardiness issues. Cowboys head coach has acknowledged that Pickens has had “timeliness issues” this season but did not elaborate on them. But they have resulted in Pickens being fined.
Apparently the Cowboys are willing to live with that part of Pickens, even if it is frustrating at times.
“He might miss a team bus or be late on occasion, but [the Cowboys] can live with that,” one Cowboys source said, per ESPN's Todd Archer and Jeremy Fowler. The source noted that Dallas hasn't made a big deal out of the fines. “He's been a hard worker and has been accountable, and that's been the important part.”
Pickens is in the middle of a career season in Dallas. He has 73 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns with five games left in the regular season.
All of those figures are already career highs, which shows just how much he's blossomed in Dallas.
George Pickens thriving with Dak Prescott, Cowboys after tumultuous tenure with Steelers
The Cowboys wagered that Pickens could thrive with consistent quarterback play. It appears that they got their wish.
Archer and Fowler revealed that one issues that caused a rift between Pickens and the Steelers was a lack of stability at the quarterback position.
“That's where a lot of the issues from Pittsburgh stem from,” a player source said. “He didn't have stability at quarterback.”
“The stuff he couldn't control, he had a hard time dealing with — and a quarterback's play is not in his control,” another Steelers source said. “I think the quarterback issues [in Pittsburgh] played a part in his frustrations.”
Thankfully, Pickens seems to get on well with Dak Prescott.
It will be exciting to see if Pickens has another big game against Detroit in Week 14.
Cowboys at Lions kicks off at 8:15PM ET on Thursday.
