The Pittsburgh Steelers have been going through a frustrating stretch with three losses in four games. Head coach Mike Tomlin would like to see wide receiver George Pickens handle it better.
‘It’s a problem because it’s not solution-oriented,’ Tomlin told the media during his Monday press conference. ‘We’re all frustrated, but we gotta manage our frustrations in a professional, mature way and when it’s not done that way, it’s not necessarily pushing us toward solutions.’
During Thursday’s 21-18 loss to the lowly New England Patriots, Pickens was shown in the end zone dramatically folding in half after a failed play. He also barely put his hands up to block defensive back Alex Austin and was yelling at teammates on the bench.
In the third quarter, Tomlin was shown on the sideline talking sternly to Pickens, who had five catches for 19 yards, his second lowest yardage total this season.
After a Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada, but Pittsburgh’s woes continued.
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After the loss to the Patriots, fellow wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who has been vocal about his own grievances, explained how he tries to keep Pickens in the right mindset.
‘He’s probably frustrated. My job is just continue to tell him to keep his head in the game. You never know when your opportunity is going to come,’ he said. ‘You can’t let one bad play define the whole thing for you personally. Once you do that, you take yourself out of the game. I’m always there for him continue to try to keep his head in the game and keep his energy up. We need him at the same time. If his energy’s down and ball comes his way, he don’t make plays like he wants to. He’ll be all right.’
Pickens is in his second year in the league. He was a second round pick in the 2022 draft out of Georgia and played in 17 games, starting 12 in his rookie year. He racked up 52 catches for 801 receiving yards.
Tomlin was asked if the wide receiver’s behavior is appropriate for a player who has NFL experience.
‘I think it can happen to anybody when things aren’t going well, to be quite honest with you,’ he said. ‘We care a lot. We put a lot into it. So frustration is a natural human response. But I’m also completely comfortable asking these guys to do unnatural things. Because they’re professional athletes, man. That’s our job to do the unique things and make it look regular, to make it look ordinary.’