Some time not long before his Monday news conference, Mike Tomlin encountered his No. 1 wide receiver at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
“I just saw him in the training room.” Tomlin said of George Pickens, “and he had a smile on his face.”
Pickens perhaps had reason to smile again a few minutes later when Tomlin publicly and very firmly had his back.
Casual fans and football film buffs alike widely speculated over social media and otherwise that Pickens was at fault for a Russell Wilson interception during the Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
#Chiefs safety Justin Reid’s interception in the endzone on Russell Wilson. Russ clearly thought he had the TE wide open over top against Tranqull and that Reid was going to be keeping tabs on Pickens, but that route by Pickens doesn’t command it. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/Dozb99mtwY
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) December 26, 2024
Late in the first quarter with the Steelers trailing 13-0 and facing a second-and-4 from the Kansas City 18 yard-line, Pickens was lined up wide to the left. He took about three steps into a route and appeared to give up on it while tight end Pat Freiermuth was targeted in the end zone.
Lined up on Pickens’ side of the field, Chiefs safety Justin Reid initially shaded toward Pickens, but once Pickens stopped his route, he was free to retreat back to the left hashmarks at the goal line — in front of Freiermuth — and able to corral the interception.
Don’t blame Pickens, though, Tomlin said.
“Not at all,” Tomlin said. “George’s route running had zero to do with that interception. George was fine (in that game).”
Wilson after the game Wednesday was asked specifically if Pickens was supposed to run a “vertical” route on the play.
“Yeah, you know, I think he was going to go vertical,” Wilson said, “but at the end of the day, it can’t happen. It’s on me. I was trying to give Pat a chance.”
The Netflix cameras on Christmas Day multiple times caught Pickens angrily remove his helmet or other signs of frustration. Tomlin said he had no issue with Pickens’ actions.
“Frustrations are a component of losing,” Tomlin said. “I tend to focus my energies on constructing victory and worry less about those things. We’ve got good people, including George. We’re able to get over some of those bumps in the road that are associated with failure and keep it moving.”
