George Pickens didn’t play in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-13 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday evening. But he definitely has an opinion about what transpired in the back of the end zone after Steelers tight end Darnell Washington drove Eagles cornerback Darius Slay through there.
After watching a fan’s perspective, Pickens expressed his thoughts on what resulted from the scuffle — two Steelers penalties and none for the home team.
“But we got flagged . But yall don’t think it’s a vendetta against the Steelers (throwing up emoji),” Pickens commented on the video, posted on Instagram by the NFL on CBS, late Sunday night.
Pickens was inactive for the second game in a row with a hamstring ailment. Pickens was saddled with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for firing an imaginary gun after a big gain against Cincinnati earlier this month. Later that night, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen made a similar — but not identical — celebration motion but wasn’t flagged.
The Steelers were walked back 15 yards and had to settle for a Chris Boswell field goal after the unfriendly gathering in the back of the end zone. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that the explanation as to why “wasn’t sufficient.”
Official Alan Eck said via pool report that no official on the field, nor replay assist in New York, saw punches thrown by an Eagles defensive player.
“Because two Steelers were observed, number 80 and number 19, committing unsportsmanlike conduct after the play was over. That’s what it was. Two players after the fact, unsportsmanlike conduct,” Eck said. “Since we had flags down, it gave New York an opportunity to review the play as well. There was no video evidence of punches observed by the Philadelphia Eagles.”