Steelers WR George Pickens furious, spikes helmet after no-call on 4th down vs. Bills
Steelers receiver George Pickens was livid after no pass interference was called on a critical play in the fourth quarter of Monday’s Wild Card Playoff game against the Bills. Facing off against cornerback Dane Jackson, Pickens asserted there was illegal contact that prevented him from converting a catch on fourth-and-3.
The receiver bounced up after the play and threw his hands in the air in disbelief that no flag was thrown. Things took a turn for the worse after that as Pickens made his way to the sideline before slamming his helmet to the ground in anger. You can view both the play and helmet spike below.
The no-call resulted in a turnover on downs for the Steelers that seemingly ended their hopes of a comeback. They were down two touchdowns at the time with a little less than five minutes remaining remaining.
Ultimately, that ended up being too little time for Pittsburgh as the Bills ran the clock down to the two-minute warning before giving the ball back. That drive ended at the Buffalo 25-yard line as Pittsburgh lost 31-17.
If George Pickens had gotten his way and the Steelers were awarded a first down, perhaps they could have gone on to score. Either way, they still would have needed another touchdown just to tie it up and it might not have mattered anyway.
Pickens finished the game with five catches for 50 yards on 11 targets. He finished the season as the Steelers’ No. 1 receiver with 63 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns.
Pittsburgh now heads into the offseason with plenty of questions, including the future of head coach Mike Tomlin. Tomlin has coached the Steelers for the past 17 seasons, leading them to a 173-100 record and one Super Bowl in that span. He reached the playoffs 10 times and never had a record below .500.
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Mike Tomlin exits press conference when asked about contract
With speculation regarding head coach Mike Tomlin’s future with the team, a reporter at the postgame press conference asked the longtime Steelers boss a question that he was bound to get at some point tonight.
“Mike, you have a year left on your contract…” the reporter began.
Without letting her finish, Tomlin exited the podium and left immediately. Watch the moment below:
Before the Steelers’ 31-17 loss to the Bills in the playoffs on Monday, ESPN’s NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed the latest on Tomlin — and whether or not he plans to stay in Pittsburgh for the final year of his contract.
“Mike Tomlin is expected to take some time after the season ends to see whether or not he would be willing to step away from the Steelers,” Schefter said. “He’s not getting fired. He’s welcome to stay in Pittsburgh as long as he wants.
“But, people expect him to talk with his family and Arthur Rooney to see if he could conceivably take a break after this year for a year, the way that Sean Payton once did in New Orleans, where he took a break from the Saints and then wound up coaching the Broncos. There’ll be some decisions that Mike Tomlin has to make.”