On Christmas Day, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 29–10. Early in the loss, Russell Wilson threw a head-scratching interception in the end zone in which it looked like he targeted a triple-covered tight end Pat Freiermuth. Speaking to reporters after the game Wilson said he thought George Pickens was going to run a vertical route to the end zone that would draw the safety away and allow him to make that throw. Pickens, as you might've guessed, didn't run that route. But Wilson didn't blame his young teammate and took responsibility for the error in the same breath; Pickens' actions on the play were later defended by coach Mike Tomlin as well.
On Thursday Pickens, who missed the previous three games with an injury, was asked about him and Wilson not "being on the same page" on that play and it resulted in a tense moment between the young wideout and the reporter who asked the question.
"It seemed like you and Russ weren't on the same page in that interception against the Chiefs. How does that happen and what do you guys do to address it?" Pickens was asked by Steelers reporter Alan Saunders.
"You said me and Russell wasn't on the same page?" Pickens questioned.
"Yeah, well, that's what he said," Saunders replied.
"That's what he said? Or is that what you said?" Pickens asked.
"That's what he said," Saunders responded.
"Oh, O.K.," Pickens said. Then he fell silent when asked the question again, put his mask over his nose, and abruptly ended the press scrum.
I asked #Steelers WR George Pickens about not being on the same page with Russell Wilson during the interception against the #Chiefs. pic.twitter.com/e5Lh314gSl
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) January 2, 2025
Clearly Pickens wasn't a fan of the line of questioning.
He can give reporters something else to ask about on Saturday night when the Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals in the season finale.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steelers’ George Pickens Had Tense Moment With Reporter Over Russell Wilson Question.
