Steelers Legend Disagrees With Mike Tomlin's George Pickens Take

A Pittsburgh Steelers legend didn't agree with Mike Tomlin when discussing George Pickens' role on a turnover in Week 17.

Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) runs after a catch against the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens, despite being exonerated of any blame by head coach Mike Tomlin, has taken a ton of flak from those around the game for his role in a pivotal Russell Wilson interception during the team's 29-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17.

With Kansas City holding a 13-0 lead towards the end of the first quarter, the Steelers offense had traversed their way down into the red zone. On a 2nd-and-14 from the 18-yard line, however, Wilson was picked off by safety Justin Reid while targeting tight end Pat Freiermuth in the end zone.

While Wilson can be criticized for attempting the ill-fated throw, Pickens' level of effort on his route wasn't enough to warrant significant attention from Reid over the top, who was then in position to drop back and come away with the ball.

Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, while also stating that some of the responsibility of the sequence does in fact on Wilson, was of the belief that Pickens was the primary culprit.

"Basically, you're trying to in-and-out the safeties and corners and then trying to find the seams down the field," Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. "Issue No. 1 is George Pickens didn't run his route. That's issue No. 1. Because if he doesn't run his route, the safety has no threat now."

His comments struck a vastly different tone than Tomlin, who stated that Pickens' route running had "zero to do" with the interception during his press conference on Monday.

Roethlisberger expanded on why he thought Pickens was at fault, choosing to speak from Reid's point of view when discussing why he was able to discern what was happening on the play based on the receiver's actions.

"Now I can go rob that ball, because there's nothing holding me over there," Roethlisberger said. "If George runs his route down the sideline, I have to honor that, because it's George and he's in my zone."

The Steelers need Pickens to bounce back and be at peak form entering the postseason, or else they run the risk of yet another early elimination.

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