The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a frustrating loss on Thursday night as they fell to the Cleveland Browns. Players were frustrated as they saw their five-game winning streak come to an end, and it is especially embarrassing for a team that was briefly labeled as contenders to lose to the then two-win Browns. Frustration began to boil over as the game went on, and the two in-division rivals got chippy throughout the contest. Someone who consistently found himself in altercations after plays was George Pickens.
Pickens caught four passes for 48 yards during the game against the Browns, with all of his production coming in the first half. He was completely shut down in the second half, partly due to the blizzard-like conditions.
The Steelers were losing for most of the game as their first touchdown drive didn't come until the first part of the fourth quarter. On that drive, Pickens drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Grant Delpit as the Cleveland defender ripped Pickens' mouthpiece off of his helmet following a play. Delpit took to social media after the game to clear the situation up, showing that Pickens should have been the player receiving the flag.
Unfortunately, there isn't much of a defense for Pickens after seeing these views of the two players' interaction. It is pretty clear that Pickens stuck his leg out after the play in an attempt to trip Delpit as he was walking backwards, which led to Delpit ripping the mouthpiece off of Pickens' face mask which drew the flag.
The play helped the Steelers as it moved the offense half the distance to the goal line. The play before the penalty was a reverse from Pittsburgh's offense that saw Cordarrelle Patterson lose yards, so putting the offense closer to the end zone with a new set of downs was extremely beneficial. Jaylen Warren would score on the next play, which ignited Pittsburgh's comeback that ultimately came up short.
Overall, the loss to the Browns was a rough showing for the Steelers, specifically Pickens. He was silent in the second half and then was extremely loud after the final whistle sounded. On the final Hail Mary, Pickens got into a fight with a Browns defensive back and the two had to be separated by stadium security, and the wide receiver then went and faced the media, where he gave nothing but excuses for Pittsburgh's loss.
Pickens called the Browns a bad team following the game and blamed the weather conditions and officials for the loss. This is something that doesn't fly in Pittsburgh, and the third-year player was called out by multiple figures in the NFL media for his actions and comments. Many thought Pickens had finally matured and become a professional, but clearly that is not the case.
Steelers Still Need To Worry About Unnecessary Antics From George Pickens
For a while it seemed like Pickens had matured a little bit, but Thursday night proved that isn't the case. The receiver will probably be spoken to by leaders on the team and Head Coach Mike Tomlin while the team prepares for their next game against the Cincinnati Bengals due to his unacceptable behavior.
Historically, Pickens has performed extremely well against the Bengals, so hopefully fans get to see the wide receiver bounce back in a big way in Week 13. He is a crucial part of the offense for Pittsburgh, so making sure he is completely bought in is vital to winning.
