What George Pickens odd Patrick Mahomes embrace means for Steelers future
12/26/2024 01:47 PM
The Pittsburgh Steelers took a tough loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day, and the duo of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were able to dominate. After the game, they were both interviewed and George Pickens came in the middle of it and gave Mahomes and Kelce props.
It seemed like a regular interaction of a player showing his respect to his opponent, but there may be a deeper meaning to what Pickens did, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
My thought was, he's saying come get me,” Florio said. “I feel like Pickens has been at that point of, I've had enough here for a while now. It flashes from time to time, he has visions of what he could do in an offense with a higher-end passing game. An offense that throws the ball more than the Steelers do. Think of all the guys that have been problematic at the receiver position that Mike Tomlin has kept it under wraps until either the very end or after they've gone.
“With Pickens, it's been fairly constant the past couple of seasons, but with he's so good that you keep finding a way to try to get the most out of him.”
Pickens is the best receiver on the team, and he has the stats to prove it, but the Steelers are mostly known as a running team. Regardless of what kind of offense they play, the team as a whole has been successful, but Pickens may want an opportunity to shine more.
Are the Steelers starting to cool down?
The Steelers have not played well the past few weeks, and their game against the Chiefs felt like the one that made everyone realize they need to be better. After the game, veteran Cam Heyward didn’t hold back about their play.
"The last three weeks, we’ve played like s**t,” Heyward said. “Simple as that. I own that; every player’s got [to] own that in here. Man, just can’t squander opportunities, whether it’s turnovers, whether it’s getting off the field, whether it’s scoring touchdowns. It’s a multitude of things, and it has reared its big head.
"My confidence is never gonna lack in the group. It’s just, from an execution standpoint that is just dumbfounding. We have to get it done on those plays. We sit up in meetings, we take it out to the [practice] field. That means nothing if you don’t do it in the game."
As the playoffs are slowly approaching, it will be imperative that the Steelers get back in a rhythm so they don’t get bounced out early.
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