The performance of George Pickens with The Dallas Cowboys is a source of embarrassment for The Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mike Moraitis

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George Pickens stat with Dallas Cowboys is embarrassing for Pittsburgh Steelers image

TL;DR

  • George Pickens is having his best career season, surpassing his previous yardage high.
  • Pickens has more receiving yards this season than the entire Steelers wide receiver room combined.
  • The Steelers' inability to manage Pickens and mend the relationship led to his trade.
  • The Cowboys are not facing similar issues with Pickens, reflecting poorly on Steelers coaching.

The Pittsburgh Steelers might have made a mistake with George Pickens.

Pickens is experiencing the most successful season of his career. Following his 88 receiving yards in the Week 13 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, the former second-round selection has now accumulated 1,142 yards for the season, exceeding his previous career high of 1,140, which he achieved during his second year.

Pickens isn't just accumulating impressive statistics; he's also delivering crucial plays at pivotal moments for Dallas.

As if the trade with the Cowboys could not look worse for the Steelers, Pickens is now out-producing the Steelers' entire wide receivers room before Pittsburgh takes the field for its Week 13 matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

This season, Steelers wide receivers have accumulated 1,082 receiving yards, a total that is 60 yards shy of what Pickens has achieved individually. While Pittsburgh's receiving corps might surpass Pickens' yardage on Sunday, the mere proximity of their collective total to his individual performance is astonishing.

Context is important here when thinking about the Steelers trading Pickens during the offseason.

Ultimately, he posed a challenge for Pittsburgh, and the situation had deteriorated to a point where it appeared irreparable, also creating issues within the locker room.

Our issue isn't with the rationale for the trade, but rather Pittsburgh's complete inability to manage Pickens and mend the relationship to retain him on the roster.

If the Steelers had managed that, they'd possess an excellent wide receiver duo, and perhaps their offense wouldn't be stuck in the past as it has been this year. However, that's even questionable given offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's play-calling, but I'll stop there.

It's quite evident that the Cowboys are not experiencing remotely similar problems to those the Steelers faced with Pickens, which reflects poorly on head coach Mike Tomlin and the team's coaching personnel.

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Staff Writer