Chiefs Safety Was Never Concerned with George Pickens on Crucial INT vs. Steelers: ‘Woulda Been the Same Result’
Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens called out Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens for running the wrong route on Russell Wilson’s crucial red zone interception in Wednesday’s 29-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Same on offense as well when you got #14 not running his routes causing INTs,” Owens wrote on X in response to a graphic of Cam Heyward’s quote saying, “When 10 guys do their job and one doesn’t, we are screwed.”
It turns out that Pickens’ route didn’t matter on the interception. Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid said he was going to pick off Wilson’s ill-advised pass regardless.
“Woulda been the same result. You are correct that I was never concerned with backside WR to begin with,” Reid replied on X to Dan Orlovsky of ESPN.
The first-quarter red zone interception didn’t lead to any Chiefs points — a three-and-out, in fact. It was still a missed opportunity at valuable Steelers points in Wednesday’s 29-10 loss to the defending Super Bowl champions.
Wilson was asked after the game if he was expecting Pickens — back from his hamstring ailment — to go deep and take Reid’s attention. Kansas City linebacker Drue Tranquill and safety Jaden Hicks were also in the vicinity of the pass, which was intended for tight end Pat Freiermuth.
“I think he was going to go vertical, but at the end of the day it can’t happen,” Wilson said. “It’s on me. I was trying to give Pat a chance. He’s done a good job for us down in the red zone, and they made a good play.”
The Steelers will have to count on Wilson as they try to get back on track. Pittsburgh has lost three consecutive games by at least 14 points for the first time since 1988. The Steelers have lost the turnover battle in the latter two during the skid.
“We just have to play cleaner,” Wilson said. “That’s going to be the first part. I think the second part is we’re going to have to study the film and see where we’re doing things really well. There’s some moments. We scored a touchdown, got called back. Those things happen in key situations. … I’m betting on our guys and who we are and how we’re going to respond.”
Brendan Howe provided reporting from Pittsburgh.