George Pickens looking ahead to Cowboys, not dwelling on costly fumble against Colts

George Pickens was in no mood to relive the momentum-changing fumble he lost Sunday that contributed to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-24 defeat at Indianapolis.

Unlike postgame, when he declined interview requests, Pickens spoke with reporters Wednesday. He just didn’t want to address the fumble — or most other subjects, for that matter.

On four occasions, Pickens responded to a question about the Steelers’ first loss of the season by saying his focus was on the game Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

That included queries about his fumble in the second quarter with the Steelers trailing 17-0. Pickens caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Justin Fields inside the red zone and was fighting for more yardage near the sideline when he lost control as he was spun around.

The Colts recovered at their 3, the first of two lost fumbles that blunted the Steelers’ attempts at a comeback.

Asked how he can make sure he doesn’t make the same mistake again, Pickens said, “Just think about Dallas this week.”

What happened on the play that made him lose control of the ball?

“Just think about Dallas this week, the team we play Sunday.”

A moment later, Pickens was asked how much a fumble can hurt the offense’s momentum.

“Think about Dallas this week,” he said before begrudgingly adding, “A fumble like that, you want to do ball security. Every team coaches that around the league.”

It was the first time in Pickens’ three-year career that he lost a fumble. After not fumbling once as a rookie, Pickens fumbled three times in 2023, including late in the season against Seattle and Cincinnati. On all three occasions, the Steelers recovered the loose ball.

Fields addressed the gaffe after the game.

“We all know what happened,” he said. “He’s just got to take care of the ball, just like I’ve got to take better care of the ball on that third down that we had.”

Fields was referring to a play in the third quarter when he lost his grip on the ball at the end of a sack that led to a 25-yard swing in field position and gave the ball back to the Colts, who had a 17-3 lead.

Pickens’ fumble put a blemish on his best receiving day of the season. He finished with seven catches on 11 targets for 113 yards.

In the second half, when the Steelers scored three touchdowns to get within one score of the Colts, Pickens had a hand in the comeback. He caught a 38-yard pass down the left sideline that moved the Steelers inside the red zone again. On that drive, the Steelers finished with Fields’ 5-yard touchdown run to make it 17-10.

Pickens added a 9-yard reception inside the red zone on the Steelers’ next touchdown drive. In the fourth quarter, his 37-yard catch to the Indianapolis 25 was the big gain on a drive that ended with Fields’ touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth.

“It’s seeing the coverage,” he said. “They were playing man-to-man, and it was attacking man-to-man on third down.”

Despite the Steelers lacking a proven No. 2 wide receiver to draw attention away from Pickens, he has found ways to thrive with Fields as his quarterback. In just one of the four games this season has Pickens caught fewer than five passes or gained fewer than 50 yards.

His 16.1 average yards per catch against the Colts represented a season high for Pickens and was reminiscent of how he led the NFL last year by averaging 18.1 yards per reception.

The goal for Pickens and the Steelers will be figuring out how to be more productive in the first half. Through four weeks, the Steelers have scored just two touchdowns in the first half of games, and only three teams have scored fewer points in the opening half.

Pickens was asked why the Steelers keep waiting until the second half for the offense to get on track. His answer may sound familiar.

“We’re really focusing on the Cowboys, to be honest,” he said. “You know what I mean.”