NFL fines George Pickens $16,391 for taunting Bengals defender

George Pickens enjoyed a career-kind of game last Saturday in the Steelers win over the Bengals. However, the NFL took exception with one detail.

It was a taunt. Although an official didn’t toss a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Steelers receiver, on Saturday the league fined Pickens for unsportsmanlike conduct. Because it was his second fine for bad conduct this season, the cost was $16,391.

The taunting happened on Pickens’ second long touchdown of the game. He caught the ball from Mason Rudolph along the sideline, then blasted towards the end zone. Pickens briefly turned and pointed to the trailing defensive backs at about the five yard line. Then he high stepped to finish the touchdown.

The NFL fined #Steelers WR George Pickens $16,391 for unsportsmanlike conduct — pointing at defenders on his second TD last week vs. Cincinnati.

No flag was thrown. pic.twitter.com/1CQUmq0G1e

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 30, 2023

The NFL has levels of fines. The amount depends on the offense and whether the player has repeated violations. A second offense for taunting is $16,391.

If you go all the way back to late October, the NFL fined the Steelers receiver for his week seven behavior against the Los Angeles Rams. He received two fines for the game. One was for taunting. The other was for an unnecessary roughness call for an illegal blindside block.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin addressed the issue then by saying his team would work to figure out the “tenor” of each officiating crew.

“We have to adjust our behavior accordingly,” Tomlin told reporters. “You know, we got into the game and saw the tenor of that crew and didn’t adjust our behavior accordingly. That’s our job as professionals. Am I worried about those issues being issues moving forward? No, I’m not. But it is a great opportunity to talk about learning the tenor of a (refereeing) crew. The worst thing we did was not adjust to that tenor. That’s on me.”

The Steelers celebrated a much-needed, 34-11 win last Saturday on the road against Cincinnati. And Pickens was a major part of why the Steelers won. Although fans and the media criticized the receiver earlier in the month for a lack of effort, Pickens dazzled against the Bengals. He caught four passes for 195 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Rudolph and Pickens combined for an 86-yard touchdown on the Steelers second offensive snap of the game.

On Sunday, the Steelers play the Seahawks in Seattle. They’ll need a win to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. Tomlin confirmed Friday that Rudolph will start, again. Up until last week, Rudolph hadn’t seen the field in a regular-season game since 2021. The Seahawks now are well aware of Rudolph’s connection with Pickens. But no doubt, the Steelers will need their second-year receiver to come up big, but probably without the taunts.