The Cincinnati Bengals continue to pop up in buzz around the Pittsburgh Steelers roughly a week after the latest entry in the rivalry.
Thank Steelers wideout George Pickens, the rookie who delivered the controversial shot to Tyler Boyd during an onside kick, took part in some post-play shoving and was untimely ejected from the game with about twenty seconds left.
Days after the game, reporters finally linked up with Pickens and naturally asked about the controversy.
What makes the whole thing notable is Pickens chose a pretty interesting track, pointing out that he still had a big game and that his ejection ultimately didn’t hurt the team.
From ESPN’s Brooke Pryor:
George Pickens downplayed his ejection at the end of the Bengals loss for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Tyler Boyd in the onside kick recovery attempt because it didn’t drastically affect the outcome pic.twitter.com/orQhQeAZUi
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) November 24, 2022
One can understand that this line of response caused plenty of controversy from Steelers fans and beyond:
I’d like to see more ownership there. It showed a lack of discipline and lack of regard for player safety. Unnecessary and just cause it didn’t change anything in the game doesn’t mean it wasn’t problematic on several levels for the team.
— Kate Magdziuk (@FFballblast) November 24, 2022
There is a lot going on here lol https://t.co/eIKsbHqFR4
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) November 24, 2022
Ultimately, this won’t help things between the Bengals and Steelers on the field or in terms of how fans interact. Pickens will undoubtedly get some direction on how to better tackle presser questions, too.
Either way, the Bengals are on to the Titans while the Steelers deal with this and accusations from Bengals that their offense is predictable.
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