Ravens defender downplays George Pickens’ game-winning touchdown

That’s what you get when you only put one guy on George Pickens.

Acisure Stadium shook as the crowd erupted when Kenny Pickett heaved the ball 41 yards downfield into the waiting arms of George Pickens for the game-winning score. It was a typical ho-hum game for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, and this finally gave everyone something to cheer about.

As bloody as the battles between Pittsburgh and the Baltimore Ravens have been over the decades, there’s a special kind of mutual respect. But All-Pro defender Marlon Humphrey, playing in his first game of the 2023 season, wasn’t having it.

“It was just a throw and catch,” Humphrey said after the loss. “You kind of get beat sometimes when you blitz the house, and that was one of those times. So, obviously, you don’t want to be on the other end of a game-winner, but it happens at the corner position.”

Thanks to Baltimore not respecting Pickens’ game enough to double-cover him, the second-year receiver enjoyed a monster 131-yard day — eclipsing the career 127 yards he put up on the Cleveland Browns.

The rivals won’t meet again until the final game of the regular season. It’s possible the outcome won’t matter much to (at least) one of them.

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