After four losses in their last five games and the team seemingly falling apart with the end of the regular season drawing near, the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to put it together on Saturday shockingly with an impressive win over the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.
Even though the offense has been a big problem for the Steelers this season, bad enough to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada during the 2023 campaign, Pittsburgh played well offensively against the Bengals, putting up 34 points against Cincinnati.
Part of the reason for the team’s success offensively on Saturday was the performance of wide receiver George Pickens, who had arguably the best game of his NFL career thus far.
Pickens only caught four passes in the win over the Bengals, but those four receptions led to 195 receiving yards and two touchdowns, which proved to be the difference against Cincinnati and prompted a three-word message from the wideout after the game via Christopher Carter of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“I kept receipts,” Pickens said.
George Pickens: “I kept receipts.” #Steelers pic.twitter.com/Z6I9QNj2fr
— Christopher Carter (@CarterCritiques) December 24, 2023
As a result of his breakout game in Week 16, Pickens has now cracked the 1,000-yard receiving mark (1,009) for the season, which already tops his rookie season total of 801 yards.
Although things have been rocky in Pittsburgh this season for everybody involved, this might be the performance that turns things around for Pickens and helps the offense get back to form under head coach Mike Tomlin.
Along with Pickens having a breakout game and the Steelers getting a much-needed win, the storied franchise remains in the playoff picture in the AFC, as Tomlin’s squad could very well be playoff-bound this season.
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