It was not a good day for the Pittsburgh Steelers, not just on the field, but off of it too. On one hand, the ‘Men of Steel’ failed to capitalize on an opportunity with 15 seconds left as the Dallas Cowboys took home the victory (20-17). And on the other, some questionable moments left the community confused. No, we’re not talking about Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb’s infamous rant to his QB Dak Prescott. Interestingly, Steelers WR George Pickens was noticeably absent for most of the game—he played for a 34 of a possible 58 snaps or 59% of plays (a new career-low for him), in contrast to Van Jefferson who played 47 and Calvin Austin at 44. While many owed this limited presence to ongoing trade rumors surrounding the WR, head coach Mike Tomlin had a swift explanation ready. But before we get to that…

For the unversed: The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported on October 4 that the Kansas City Chiefs are possibly eyeing Pickens (besides the Cleveland Browns’ Amari Cooper, Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins, Jacksonville Jaguars’ Christian Kirk and Tennessee Titans’ DeAndre Hopkins) amid their top receiver Rashee Rice being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. Notably, Rice was injured by his own teammate, Patrick Mahomes, when the latter collided with the WR during a tackle and hyperextended his knee.

While an official update is still awaited, Pickens’ absence on the field on Sunday, despite playing a career-high 1,140 rushing yards and five TDs last season, had everyone rather intrigued and directing questions at Tomlin, who didn’t pay heed to any “underlying story”. After a journalist asked, “Mike, George Pickens wasn’t one of your higher snap players on offense. There was a whole series where he was on the bench in the second half. What went into that?“,the coach confidently stated, “We just wanted to minimize his reps in an effort to get more productivity.” 

However, what exacerbated the situation was the 23-year-old Alabama native sported an eye black that read, “Always f****** open,” during the game. Was it a dig at the management because he knew what was coming? Honestly, we can just speculate at this point. But going by the HC’s words: “We’re just trying to rep manage in terms of the totality of the big picture. He wasn’t less of a focal point in terms of our intentions of what we wanted to do offensively.”

The 52-year-old coach further compared the situation to other players, too, while strongly confirming the absence of any controversies, saying “It’s no different than we minimize some of the snaps of D-linemen like Cam Heyward…It’s just about snap management. There’s no underlying story, to be quite honest with you.”

However, the controversy didn’t end there as Jourdan Lewis locked horns with Pickens right after the game ended…

George Pickens becomes an eyesore

Sunday was full of action. A 90-minute delay, a lip reading match between fans, and a helmet yanking action that could land a player in serious trouble—that’s sums up the drama, suspense and entertainment of what was a highly electric match between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys.

Thunder and lightning lashed Acrisure Stadium all evening as players waited to get their helmets on. Once the skies cleared, the game started rather slowly, with the Dallas leading 6-3 by half time. After the game resumed, Pittsburgh was the first to score, taking their lead to 10-6, before the Cowboys quickly caught up with 13-10. Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr then intercepted a pass with around 10 minutes left, handing the ball to his team, before tight end Pat Freiermuth contributed to a TD with 4:56 left, taking a 17-13 lead—the same as their opponent.

So of course, the winning team was going to celebrate. However, Dallas’ Jourdan Lewis took it up a notch as he waved the ball in front of Pickens—who was perhaps already pissed or disappointed evident by the eye black and his lessened snaps. Pickens quickly retorted back by yanking Lewis’ facemask and hurled him to the ground. While Lewis was stopped by referees and other players, as he marched toward his opponent in what looked like an altercation attempt, the repercussions will likely go deep for the Steelers WR.

He might be fined by the NFL, though we’re not sure of a suspension yet. Physical jabs aside, on his way to the locker room, the Cowboys cornerback was also caught on camera criticizing Pickens. “Pittsburgh need a receiver. George Pickens weak,” he said before disappearing out of the frame. Seems like things are about to get heated up. The upcoming weeks are turning out to be very for George Pickens. Do you think the Kansas City Chiefs will be making an offer to him?

Meanwhile, do check out our latest Think Tank exclusive interview with Doug Sanders. It’s packed with insights on the current NFL season, college football, NIL, and much more.