Quarterback Justin Fields was blamed for a late game collision, and the Pittsburgh Steelers lost running back Cordarrelle Patterson to injury. After the game, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens apparently had nothing to say.
Pickens executed a media dodgeaccording to an article on X by ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
“George Pickens declined requests for an interview after the game,” Pryor wrote.
Pickens had a good game overall, catching seven passes for 113 yards. But he also committed a crucial fumble inside the 10-yard line that cost the Steelers a three-point loss to the Colts.
Steelers WR George Pickens still trying to break free
Pickens’ early mistake played a role in a game that came down to the wire. After leading the entire game, the Steelers cut into the Colts’ lead. They had the ball, trailing 27-24 with a chance to tie or win.
However, Justin Fields looked to the right when the first down hit him in the mask. The Steelers didn’t get a first down after facing a second-and-21 situation and lost the game.
For his part, Fields stood up in front of the media and accepted responsibility, according to an article on X by Chris Adamski.
“It was my fault,” Fields said. “We were on the first kick, and (center) Zach (Frazier) was identifying stuff. I felt the databases making a change in the back-end image. So when he was identifying stuff, telling the o-line where to go, I was trying to get that final shot before the shot happened. In the end, it’s from the go kick. So after kicking my leg, I have to be ready for the ball. It doesn’t matter when it happens or not. Yeah, it’s on me.
As for Pickens, he did not behave like his teammate. His fumble on the sideline appeared to be a sloppy play where he didn’t have the ball secured. But who knows? He didn’t have a word to say. Fields took his place, according to steelers.com.
“First and foremost, you can tip your cap to the other team, but at the end of the day, I think we outdid ourselves,” Fields said. “We had a few fumbles, one from me and the other from GP (George Pickens). But I like the way the offense fought back. We were shooting ourselves in the foot. It’s a bit the same story. So we just have to work on that and make sure we don’t get injured and get a quicker start, not warm up and come out of the gate hot.
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This loss removed the Steelers from the list of undefeated teams. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had high praise for the Colts.
“First of all, I have to give credit to the Indianapolis Colts,” Tomlin said. “I thought they really brought it, especially early in the game. But the start of the games doesn’t really define the games, it’s just the beginning. I thought we had a lot of opportunities.
He also said his team fought hard.
» “I appreciate the fight of our group. I just told them that. But I don’t congratulate them for that. Fighting is necessary in this profession. But I recognize it. The real, tangible reason we lost this game is because it was our fault. We have been negligent in many ways. You don’t win football matches against motivated groups in their stadium by playing like we did today in some cases.
