Cincinnati — George Pickens is the most unpredictable athlete in the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten the most out of Pickens’ play, but he cost the team twice on Sunday when he was flagged for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. On the second one, it backed the Steelers up from the 13 yard line to the 28 yard line, resulting in a blocked field goal.
Pickens was flagged for employing the “finger guns” celebration, which the NFL views as an aggressive gesture, to mark a first down. The referees informed Pickens that they “got the gesture wrong,” but Pickens thinks that following recent games, he won’t be singled out by them.
Russell Wilson, the quarterback, informed Pickens that he does not require all of the festivities and that he can carry on making a lot of plays without endangering the team. Pickens acknowledged this, but he felt that some referees occasionally gave him “ticky-tack” penalties. Yes, that is something I am already familiar with. I would probably just suggest that the referees are hurting the team with various gestures. I never want to harm the team, though, as I mentioned. Pickens stated, “You never want to hurt the team.” Pickens has been repeatedly defended by head coach Mike Tomlin. But it appeared that Tomlin felt compelled to publicly confront Pickens with some tough love even on Sunday.
“He simply needs to mature, dude. The game is emotionally charged. These divisional contests are important. Because he is George, he has a bullseye on his back. He knows it, but he needs to mature,” Tomlin remarked. Following his second flag, Pickens was approached by Broderick Jones, an offensive tackle for the Steelers and a college teammate. He was tagged for taunting after dropping the ball on a Bengals defender on the first flag, but the Steelers helped him relax after the second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Jones saw it as a personal mission.
“I just tell him because he’s such an emotional guy,” Jones said. “You just got to let him know, next play. You did that; it’s over with. Next play. Go make another play. Just be smart. Don’t do dumb shit. You just got to stay on him. He’s a great player. I just look at him. I try to get him right. Just as me, because I feel like we’re brothers. We’ve been together for so long. I feel like I know what makes him click and you know what doesn’t. I just try to always talk to him, stay in his area. We just continue to go from there”
Pickens has always defined himself as intensely competitive and does not wish to harm the team. On Sunday, he had another solid game, and an outstanding play after the catch led to a receiving touchdown. Pickens, the club’s top receiver, will continue to receive a lot of feeds, but the Steelers are still perplexed by some of the bad plays that have damaged the team.