George Pickens is feeling the warmth. Having dropped three essential catches within the Pittsburgh Steelers’ matchup in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals, social media went into roast mode.
Some known as him “overrated,” others advised him to “develop up,” and the criticism simply stored coming.
Steelers WR George Pickens Faces Social Media Warmth After Expensive Drops
Pickens had an evening to neglect, and Steelers followers aren’t holding again. The younger huge receiver dropped three essential passes in opposition to the Bengals, and social media erupted sooner than a two-minute drill.
One fan didn’t mince phrases, calling Pickens “overrated.”
One other vented, “Youngsters too emotional, develop up.”
Youngsters too emotional develop up
— 16
(@GoffsIntern) January 5, 2025
A 3rd commented, “Think about being a large receiver and never with the ability to catch.”
Think about being a large receiver and never with the ability to catch
— MERK (@MerkTrading) January 5, 2025
The repeated drops and visual sideline frustration solely added gasoline to the fireplace.
Some followers even questioned his future with the Steelers, with one suggesting he may get “shipped off” like different underperforming receivers.
The warmth wasn’t simply concerning the drops; it was the implications.
“If the Steelers lose… blame this man,” mentioned one other disgruntled fan. For a workforce preventing to remain aggressive, each misstep issues — and Pickens’ struggles felt just like the difference-maker in a 19-17 loss.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, although. The younger WR has proven flashes of brilliance this season, making followers hopeful that this was simply an off day. As Pickens appears to be like to rebound, the Steelers want him locked in and catching every part thrown his means as they journey a four-game dropping streak into Wild Card Weekend.
Pickens Walks Out After Russell Wilson Feedback Spark Frustration
Pickens is again within the headlines, and never for breaking ankles on-field. As a substitute, the Steelers wideout is breaking out his drama chops, strolling out on a media session after listening to Russell Wilson allegedly mentioned they “weren’t on the identical web page.”
It began like every other interview, however issues bought spicy when a reporter relayed Wilson’s supposed remark. Pickens fired again: “You mentioned me and Russell weren’t on the identical web page?”
After confirming it wasn’t the reporter’s personal sizzling take, Pickens slapped on his facemask and staged an exit that would rival Antonio Brown’s most theatrical moments.
Enter Stephen A. Smith. He known as Pickens’ response a “full overreaction,” declaring that miscommunication within the NFL isn’t precisely breaking information.
“It’s not a giant deal to listen to that you simply’re not on the identical web page. It’s a whole overreaction on his half to love placed on his face masks or no matter and stroll away from the reporters since you simply added gasoline to it,” Smith quipped, highlighting that Pickens might have turned a molehill right into a mountain of pointless headlines.
For a workforce led by a no-nonsense Mike Tomlin (who, by the way in which, has his personal historical past of strolling out on press conferences), Pickens’ sideline antics and media dramatics are turning heads for all of the flawed causes.
Right here’s the deal: Pickens has the products to be a game-changer. But when the highlight retains shining on his sideline theatrics, he dangers being remembered for his walk-offs greater than his touchdowns.
Pickens and the Steelers had an evening to neglect in Week 18, with the WR catching none of his six targets whereas Wilson completed with a grade of simply 70.2 (C-), in keeping with PFN’s QB+ metric, ninth-best of his 11 video games.
Pittsburgh will play on the street subsequent weekend in Houston or Baltimore. Our Playoff Predictor would give the Steelers a 54.9% probability of beating the Texans, whereas they’d have a 34% probability of beating the Ravens.
