Mike Tomlin needs to have a stern talk to his young wide receiver, George Pickens. His immaturity costs the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second straight week — this time with significantly more significant consequences.
Although the NFL has loved fining the Steelers for dumb stuff this season, it’s not something he’ll be fined for. Like Chase Claypool’s celebrating a first down as the clock ran down, Pickens celebrated a then-ruled catch. What he should’ve done was hurry up to the line so the Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t have time to challenge.
Instead, with more time to get the call from upstairs to throw the challenge flag, the play was reviewed and ruled a no-catch, forcing Pittsburgh to punt. With the ball back, Jacksonville took no time to get downfield, no thanks to a huge catch and score by running back Travis Etienne.
Pickens quickly made up for it on the following drive with an explosive 22-yard touchdown from Steelers great Mitch Trubisky.
But it was all for naught, as Pittsburgh loses its first of three consecutive home games by a score of 20-10 and falls to 4-3.
GEORGE PICKENS TOUCHDOWN! pic.twitter.com/yir8Q7tEck
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 29, 2023
In Pittsburgh’s Week 7 win over the Rams, a Pickens taunting penalty negated an 18-yard gain by Diontae Johnson. It cost not only the team but also himself when he was levied a $8,528 fine on Saturday.
