George Pickens has been in the headlines this week for his controversial decision to wear eye black featuring the words “Open F*cking Always.” Whether this is true or not is irrelevant and the decision has reportedly not gone down well with the coaching staff or his fellow players. Realistically, it didn’t help the team against the Dallas Cowboys last week.
Pickens saw a decreased workload in the game and logged a very underwhelming 4.10 points in fantasy football (HPPR leagues). While the NFL has fined Pickens for violating the policy, he will not be suspended.
More of a concern is the damage he may have done to his relationship with his teammates and coaching staff, and starting him in fantasy football is a risk. George Pickens might see a big role against an injury-hit Las Vegas Raiders, and a bounce-back week is possible. However, the Steelers might find a lot of success in the running game and look to quietly make the ‘we can win without you’ point and not reward the behavior.
Starting Pickens is a risk, but the priority in Pittsburgh has to be to win games. With the Steelers on a two-game losing streak, Justin Fields on a tight leash and an opponent in offensive crisis, it makes no sense to do anything detrimental to the team here.
Start Pickens as your WR2 or flex against Las Vegas.
George Pickens’ points range: 4-22; Prediction: 12.5
George Pickens’ eye black highlights ongoing issues with the Steelers’ offense
While George Pickens’ decision to wear the eye black was controversial, it does underline a point that Steelers fans are well aware of – the issues the offense has had for multiple years.
In the Week 4 loss to the Colts, Justin Fields threw the franchise’s first 300-yard passing game since September 2022. The Steelers have been a low-scoring offense since 2021, and the cracks were definitely showing in Ben Roethlisberger’s last year in the NFL.
Pittsburgh has broken 30 points three times since the 2021 season, and while Kenny Pickett and Matt Canada received a hefty chunk of the blame, we aren’t seeing a massive improvement in 2024.
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Factor in the endzone activity. Pittsburgh has 8 TDs in 5 games this season and has not had a 3 TD passing game since December 2021 against the Vikings. These are not good stats and you can see why frustration sometimes boils over among the players and fans.
The fanbase and players prioritize winning over stats and rightly so, but you need to be able to put up points to win consistently in the playoffs.
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