Steelers receiver George Pickens had some choice words for the Jaguars’ defense before Sunday’s game between Pittsburgh and Jacksonville. It was the Jags who had the last laugh, though.
“I think their D-line, they depend on their D-line a lot,” Pickens said Thursday. “With their team, you know, having a lot of first-round guys, that D-line, that’s what they depend on a lot and they kind of, you know, hope, you know what I mean? Hope the guys hold up long enough. It’s kind of a hope defense.”
That defense held Pickens in check on Sunday, though. He caught one of five passes thrown his way. The only catch he had was a 22-yard touchdown where he hurdled through two defenders. It was an impressive play, but it was the only one he made all day, and a couple members of the Jacksonville defense let him hear it after the game.
While speaking with Dewey, I couldn’t help but hear Rayshawn Jenkins discuss George Pickens’ “Hope Defense” comments with another reporter.
— Mia O'Brien (@MiaOBrienTV) October 29, 2023
So, I had him & Dewey react to it together.
🍿 🍿 #Jaguars | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/ObzYdXHAX8
“We hoped they would have put up a better fight than that,” safety Rayshawn Jenkins said, turning Pickens’s own words against him.
“[Pickens] needs some advice moving forward,” safety Andrew Wingard chimed in. “You never put pressure on yourself. You never put expectations on yourself, and he did that. If ‘hoping’ is getting a dub, we’ll take the dub.
“You don’t fire up a bunch of hungry dogs. George, do better.”
Pickens was probably feeling confident after passing the 100-yard mark in each of his past two games, but the learned the hard way that confidence can betray you.
