Subscribe
Follow Us
Pittsburg Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was not busy during Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. In a controversial decision by Mike Tomlin and Pittsburg's coaching staff, Pickens played a career-low 34 snaps out of 54 plays. He had his least productive game of the season, catching three passes for 26 yards on seven targets.
Following the primetime defeat, Tomlin shut down speculation about issues with Pickens, saying the wideout's minimal playing time aimed to maximize his energy level.
“We just wanted to kind of minimize his reps in an effort to get more productivity,” the head coach told ESPN's Brooke Pryor. “We're just trying to manage in terms of the totality of the big picture. He 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, just in general.”
“It's no different than we minimized some of the snaps of D lineman like Cam Hayward and so forth, man. It is just about snap management. It is no underlying story to be quite honest with you.”
While Tomlin claims there's no underlying story surrounding Pickens' snap count or lack of production, his top wideout's quiet day will be a main talking point entering Week 6.
Steelers hoping for increased production from George Pickens
Pickens, who was not on the Week 5 injury report, entered the Cowboys matchup as the Steelers' leader in targets, receptions, and receiving yards. His slow day was not a product of a rush-heavy game plan from Tomlin.
Justin Fields attempted 27 passes as the Steelers ran the ball 26 times, their lowest total of the season. While Pickens still led the team in targets, he was on the field far less than fellow receivers Van Jefferson (47 snaps) and Calvin Austin (44 snaps). The Georgia product ranked fifth on the team in routes run through three quarters, according to a tweet from Pryor.
While Tomlin hoped Pickens' lighter workload would result in more efficient reps, the wideout's effort on several routes left much to be desired.
Despite his lackluster play, Pickens isn't lacking any confidence in his ability to make things happen when on the field. The writing on his eyeblack during Sunday's loss said, “Always f***ing open.”
The Steelers are going to need more production out of Pickens – who has yet to find the end zone this season – if they hope to jumpstart their sluggish offense. Pittsburg ranks 25th in passing yards per game (178.2), 23rd in total yards per game (299.4) and 26th in points per game (18.4) through five weeks.
Tomlin, Pickens, and the Steelers will look to get back in the winning column when they travel to Las Vegas for a Week 6 matchup with the Raiders.
