George Pickens heard the noise and knew he needed to change the narrative.
Within the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 15 recreation in opposition to the Indianapolis Colts, he confirmed zero effort on a block that would have resulted in a landing.
Teammate Jaylen Warren and former Steelers coach Invoice Cowher criticized Pickens.
Present Steelers coach Mike Tomlin even appeared to ship a hard-hitting message earlier this week.
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Pittsburgh Steelers broad receiver George Pickens outruns the Cincinnati Bengals’ protection for an 86-yard landing within the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. (Philip G. Pavely/USA As we speak Sports activities)
Pickens rewrote the script rapidly, and his Steelers delivered a 34-11 rout of the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals Saturday.
The Steelers received the social gathering began early. On their second play, Pickens caught a slant and took it to the home for an 86-yard landing. On their subsequent drive, Calvin Austin punched one in on an end-around, and Najee Harris additionally discovered the tip zone.
Pittsburgh intercepted Jake Browning twice, as soon as ultimately zone, to take a 24-0 lead into halftime.
However on Cincinnati’s first play of the second half, Tee Higgins ran for 80 yards to get the Bengals on the board. The Bengals transformed a two-point conversion to make it a two-possession recreation.
However the Steelers answered proper again with one other lengthy rating to Pickens, this one for 66 yards.
George Pickens of the Pittsburgh Steelers catches a deep cross for a landing throughout the third quarter in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium Dec. 23, 2023, in Pittsburgh. (Justin Okay. Aller/Getty Photos)
Pickens had simply 4 receptions on the day, however half of them have been scores, and he racked up 195 yards on these catches.
Mason Rudolph accomplished 17 of 27 makes an attempt for 290 yards. So, his 13 completions that did not go to Pickens went for 95 yards. Harris ran for 78 yards on 19 carries.
Jake Browning struggled on this one. Whereas his numbers look good (28-for-42, 335 yards), he turned the ball over 3 times.
It was a must-win recreation for the Steelers. Getting into the competition, they ranked tenth within the AFC. Now, they’ve the tiebreaker over the Bengals from sweeping the season sequence after each groups moved to 8-7.
George Pickens (14) of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates after scoring a landing with teammate Jaylen Warren (30) throughout the third quarter in opposition to the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium Dec. 23, 2023, in Pittsburgh. (Justin Okay. Aller/Getty Photos)
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The Steelers moved up only one spot within the playoff image, and there are three 8-6 groups nonetheless forward of them. Cincy dropped from the sixth seed to tenth with the loss. They’d a 37.7% likelihood to get within the playoffs earlier than this recreation, however that has now dropped to fifteen%.
Pittsburgh has a date in Seattle in opposition to the Seahawks on New 12 months’s Eve, whereas the Bengals will go on the highway for a matchup with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs.