Sorting through the injury availability of backup QB Justin Fields, along with standout wide receiver George Pickens, the Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to focus on the Chiefs. However, Pickens delivered a murky status for the Christmas Day showdown, according to a post on X by Brooke Pryor.
George Pickens asked if he's going to play Wednesday. Pickens: “I hope so. It depends on how however I feel.”
Interesting? What does “how however” mean?
Well, if you listen to Adam Schefter, he seems a lot more excited about his chances of playing than Pickens, according to a post on X by the Pat McAfee Show.
“It sounds like the Steelers will get some of those (players) back, most notably George Pickens,” Schefter said. “It sounds like they have a realistic sense that he has a chance to be back there. Which would certainly help the offense. Their season’s on the line here. The division is at stake. I think they had (the Chiefs) game in mind the entire time for Pickens to come back.”
Steelers WR George Pickens battling hamstring injury
The Steelers have posted a record of 1-2 without Pickens after entering that stretch with a mark of 9-3. Included in the losses, the Steelers got pushed aside by division rival Baltimore, putting the teams in a first-place tie in the AFC North.
Pittsburgh entered that game with a plus-18 in turnover margin, but failed to keep pace against the Ravens. Head coach Mike Tomlin said the 34-17 loss landed more on the Steelers defense than the absence of Pickens, according to espn.com.
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“We didn’t control the run game,” Tomlin said. “We never did. When you don’t, you’ve got to do some splash plays or win the turnover battle in a significant way, and we didn’t do that either. There were some balls on the ground that we didn’t get. Then obviously we turned the ball over going in. It took seven points off the board. And they had a pick-6. The rest is history, as they say.”
Tomlin said the Steelers could use Pickens against the Chiefs to help counter Kansas City’s strong and varied offense, according to atozsports.com.
“They have a diverse attack,” Tomlin said. “It makes them a tough nut to crack in terms of the ability to utilize all those people and be inclusive in terms of how they distribute the ball. Certainly, they have some guys that are routinely involved in in their assault. [Xavier] Worthy, can't say enough about him as a young guy. He consistently makes plays week in and week out and is a splash playmaker for him. You see some schematic things that they do to highlight his talents, his speed. He's run some reverses. He'll take the top off of coverage in terms of stretching things down the field.”
