ATLANTA -- Receivers want the ball in their hands. It's not uncommon to see them grow frustrated when they go a while without seeing a pass.
Despite the Steelers leaving Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 19-16 victory over the Falcons, the first time this team has stacked multiple wins together, George Pickens was often unhappy with his lack of targets in the game.
Pickens drew a target on the first drive of the game, but Pickett barely overshot him:
That was on second and long, and the Steelers had to settle for a field goal.
No harm, no foul. Just keep going to him, right?
Wrong.
Pickens wound up finishing the game with only two targets. That second target didn't come until 43 seconds left in the third quarter, and Pickens hauled in a quick pass that resulted in a 2-yard gain.
That's it. Nothing more. Not what many expected for Pickens in his return to Georgia.
Throughout the game, Pickens was visibly frustrated with his lack of targets. That frustration boiled over in a pivotal moment of the game.
Clinging to a 19-13 lead in the fourth quarter, the Steelers' offense needed to answer the Falcons, who had scored on their previous drive. Momentum needed to be quelled. However, on a third down throw from Kenny Pickett, Diontae Johnson fumbled away the ball on a play that would have swung the momentum fully in the Falcons' favor:
Fortunately for the Steelers, the NFL decided to forget how to define a catch and ruled it an incomplete pass. That allowed Pressley Harvin to punt the ball 47 yards away, flipping field position and giving the defense a much better opportunity to keep the Falcons out of the end zone -- which they did.
But, before the play was reversed via replay, Pickens lost it in the heat of the moment:
For those of you who aren't great lip-readers, Pickens is saying something along the lines of, "Throw me the ball, man! Throw me the f---ing ball!"
The frustration carried over into the locker room as Pickens denied requests for interviews after the game.
On one hand, Pickens is an ultra-talented receiver. The Steelers should want to get the ball in his hands. And when he's essentially ignored throughout an entire game, it can be frustrating for more people than just fantasy owners.
At the same time, Pickens is at the mercy of having a rookie quarterback who's learning on the job. Pickett is surely improving at getting through his progressions and reading coverages, but is still in the early stages of limiting how many open receivers he flat out misses. It's happened and will continue to happen.
In that vein, when Pickett finds a rhythm in-game with a receiver or two, producing points is ultimately what matters.
But, Pickett knows how badly Pickens wants the ball. He's not ignoring him or forgetting the impact the Georgia product can have at any moment in a game.
"He’s a competitor, man. Of course we want to get the ball to George. We’ll continue to work that with Diontae and George and Pat [Freiermuth]. We have weapons everywhere, so sometimes it’s just kind of how it goes," Pickett said after the game. "One day may be George’s day, one day could be Diontae, and one day it could be Pat. That’s kind of how it is with this offense and what the defense does kind of dictates where the ball goes. Today it was spread around really well, it’s something we want to continue to do, but obviously we want to get the ball in 14’s hands."
There's one thing that's very important to remember here. The Steelers' offense is continuing to improve week after week. They've won three of four games since the bye. Pickett hasn't thrown an interception during that stretch — 128 consecutive passes without one. It's not a coincidence that the lack of turnovers has made it much easier to win football games.
I don't need to speak any more to what Pickett said after the game of how important it is to protect the football, and ultimately, how that supersedes any endeavor to force the ball to a particular receiver.
"You have to keep it in the back of your mind that you want to get guys touches," Pickett said. "At the same time, you can’t force things because obviously that’s when bad things happen. If you’re trying to get a guy the ball, the coverage doesn’t dictate that. That’s something we’re just going to continue to work with and, like I said, the ball is going to get a spread around. I think we have a lot of weapons and we’ve just got to continue to do that."
I'm sure it's not easy for Pickens to settle for two targets while Johnson sees 11 and manages to haul in only five of them. Pickens is a competitor and he wants to win.
Maybe that's the solace he can take from Sunday. Not only that his quarterback is aware of his frustration, but that the team won the game.
That is, after all, the whole point. Winning football games.
