Steelers WR George Pickens redeems himself with monster performance
There will be no criticism of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens this week. After being called out for his performance and effort level in last week's loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Pickens responded with the biggest game of his career in a stunning 34-11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pickens finished the day with four catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Three of his catches went for more than 40 yards, showcasing the type of big-play ability that has been lacking from the Steelers offense all season.
He was a force from the very first drive of the game.
On the Steelers' second offensive play he turned a quick pass over the middle into an 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown that got the Steelers offense rolling.
While Pickens is a constant big-play threat, he is also capable of making seemingly impossible catches along the sidelines. He did that late in the first half when he hauled in a 44-yard pass that featured some incredible footwork along the sidelines.
That catch put the Steelers into position to kick a field goal just before the half to take a 24-0 lead.
He added to his monster numbers early in the third quarter — and just after the Bengals scored their only touchdown of the game — when he beat his man down the sidelines and hauled in a perfectly placed ball from Rudolph to go 66 yards for the touchdown.
There were calls for the Steelers to bench Pickens for Saturday's game given some questionable effort plays a week ago, but head coach Mike Tomlin did not go that route.
While he acknowledged that Pickens' effort was a concern and needed to be addressed, he also made it clear that Pickens has talents the Steelers need to utilize.
All of those talents were on display to help him keep their playoff chances going for another week. Maybe all he needed was Mason Rudolph to be passing him the ball.
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