It’s rare to see a happy Mike Tomlin but Russell Wilson‘s Steelers debut put a smile on his face. However, he still has a bone to pick with George Pickens, as it looks like there is some friction between the two. Though Pickens caught a touchdown from Russ today, the Steelers head coach remained stern in his analysis of him.

Tomlin took the podium after the 37-15 win and was asked about the upsides of George Pickens. However, the head coach was very analytical in his response. The HC was as taciturn as he could be when he said, “You know, George in one on one circumstances is a good target and he displayed the reasons why.”

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Pickens was targeted 9 times in the game but caught 5 of those passes over 111 yards and one of those receptions also led to an 11-yard touchdown. So far, the WR has 31 receptions and 474 yards to show for the entire season. Astonishingly, this was Pickens’ first touchdown of the season and it came at the time of Russell Wilson’s debut as a Steeler.

When the Steelers quarterback helped George Pickens score in the second quarter, he “was like, ‘There’s going to be a lot more of these I believe.” There were a lot more of them indeed. Just not from Russell Wilson. The only other touchdown he had was from a 1-yard run. Props to Najee Harris, who did some heavy lifting in the game with his 21 receptions and 102 yards and a touchdown.

Everyone expressed their skepticism of Mike Tomlin’s decision to bench Justin Fields for Russell Wilson. Well, safe to say that his decision paid dividends. Russ is back to his healthy self, so let’s just hope he doesn’t take a lot of sacks and keeps up this performance. The Steelers head coach tried his best to keep Russ’ start a surprise, but George Pickens had other plans.

George Pickens puts a stop to Mike Tomlin’s plans

The Steelers head coach obviously wanted to keep the New York Jets in the dark about their QB situation. Why wouldn’t he? The team needs a competitive edge over Aaron Rodgers‘ offense and the Jets defense. The Super Bowl winning coach addressed the media two days ago and revealed that Russ was on a “day-to-day” basis as he was recovering from a calf injury. Without disclosing too much the Steelers coach mentioned that Wilson and Fields were looking “sharp” and had a “highly productive week.”

Then, George Pickens came into the picture. On the same day, the media caught up to Pickens in the locker room and asked him whether Wilson had put in any “extra time” with him. Maybe the receiver didn’t understand the assignment and divulged that he’s been practicing with Wilson “more than usual because this is his first start.” It was at that moment when the world knew that Wilson would take the rein of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Week 7 game and take them to a 5-2 record.

It all worked out in the end but Wilson knows that he has his work cut out for him. After the win, the QB spoke to the media, saying, “We’re just right on that edge of getting really good and being great,” Wilson said. “We’ve got to keep searching for that edge, learning and studying and spending the time on it.”

It really looks like the Pittsburgh Steelers might just make it to the playoffs this year because they are playing the Giants in the next game. Let’s be honest here, that’s going to be an easy win.