Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been told to bench George Pickens after the wide receiver appeared to give up on his route during the loss to the Dallas Cowboys .
On Sunday Night Football, the Cowboys secured a crucial 20-17 road win over the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium following a lengthy weather delay . The win ensured the Cowboys moved to 3-2 through five games, with Dak Prescott throwing the winning touchdown to Jalen Tolbert with 20 seconds remaining.
Meanwhile, Steelers quarterback Justin Fields finished with 131 yards and two touchdowns, but his greatest weapon was absent in mind and body throughout the contest. Pickens was seen on the footage to be half-heartedly running routes, and the 23-year-old was seemingly punished by playing less snaps.
However, those watching his performance fumed about Pickens. Footage shared on social media appeared to show him half-heartedly running multiple routes with fans and pundits alike calling out his lack of effort.
The Athletic writer Michael Salfino took to X to write: “Pickens is a disgrace. So much for Tomlin running a tight ship. Why is he not benched? This should not be acceptable.”
In the Week 5 prime-time game on Sunday , Pickens was held to just three receptions on seven targets and 26 yards receiving - the lowest total for him this season thus far, while his receptions were the second lowest. In addition to the loss and lack of production, Pickens was involved in a career-low 34 offensive snaps.
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The Cowboys loss marked the first time in Pickens’ career that he played less than 60 percent of offensive snaps. According to head coach Tomlin, Pickens was in a management situation, with the AFC North franchise simply looking to keep his snap count lower to protect him deeper into the season.
“We just wanted to minimize his reps in an effort to get more productivity,” Tomlin told reporters. “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.”
He then compared Pickens’ workload to 35-year-old Cam Heyward, adding: “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.”
Heyward played 55 snaps against the Cowboys. Both Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III were more involved than Pickens, who is believed to be the team’s star receiver. Pickens was on the sideline for most of the team's final touchdown drive, which included a critical second down catch by Brandon Johnson, who was called up from the practice squad for the game.
Pickens has just 23 receptions for 310 and zero touchdowns through five games of the 2024 NFL season. His 3-2 Steelers take on the 2-3 Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 13.
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