Steelers' Justin Fields Supports George Pickens Amid Struggles

The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their second-straight loss of the season on Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys.

After a strong Week 4 performance, the Steelers' offense struggled to sustain drives, as they finished with just 226 total yards.

One of the team's most talented weapons, receiver George Pickens, finished with three catches for 26 yards after playing just 34 snaps. Coach Mike Tomlin claimed that the lack of playing time was due to "load management."

Pickens is notorious for having a big personality, which was on full display against Dallas, as he wrote, "Open F****** Always" on his eye black. After the game, quarterback Justin Fields, who has known Pickens since high school, spoke about how he has tried to help him through his struggles.

"I mean it's tough," Fields said. "You definitely gotta feel for him. He's just passionate about the game like we talked about earlier this year. He knows how great of a player he is ... I try to talk to him on the sideline and keep him up. I think that's the biggest thing, you know, keep him going, and just try to talk to him throughout the whole game and stay in his ear and say 'We're gonna need you to make a play soon, and when it happens, we're gonna need you.'"

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While Pickens has struggled so far in 2024, he proved last season that he can be a true top option in Pittsburgh. In 2023, when he played with three different quarterbacks, Pickens totaled 1,140 receiving yards and five touchdowns.