George Pickens looks to the Cowboys and isn't worried about costly mistakes against the Colts

George Pickens was in no mood to relive the crucial blowout he lost on Sunday that contributed to the Pittsburgh Steelers' 27-24 loss in Indianapolis.

Unlike after the game, when he declined interview requests, Pickens spoke to reporters on Wednesday. He just didn't want to address the groping – or most other topics.

On four occasions, Pickens responded to a question about the Steelers' first loss of the season by saying he was focused on Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys.

That included questions about his fumble in the second quarter when the Steelers were down 17-0. Pickens caught a 10-yard pass from quarterback Justin Fields in the red zone and was fighting for more yards near the sideline when he lost control as he was spun around.

The Colts recovered at their 3, the first of two lost fumbles that ended the Steelers' comeback attempts.

Asked how he can ensure he doesn't make the same mistake again, Pickens said: “Just think about Dallas this week.”

What happened on the play that caused him to lose control of the ball?

“This week just think about Dallas, the team we play on Sunday.”

Moments later, Pickens was asked how much a fumble can affect the offense's momentum.

“Think about Dallas this week,” he said, before reluctantly adding, “A fumble like that, you want to ensure ball security. That’s what every team across the league practices.”

It was the first time in Pickens' three-year career that he lost a fumble. After not fumbling once as a rookie, Pickens fumbled three times in 2023, including late in the season against Seattle and Cincinnati. On all three occasions, the Steelers recovered the loose ball.

Fields addressed the gaffe after the game.

“We all know what happened,” he said. “He just needs to take care of the ball, just like I need to take better care of the ball on the third down that we had.”

Fields was referring to a play in the third quarter when he lost control of the ball at the end of a sack, which led to a 25-yard swing into field position, giving the ball back to the Colts, who had a score of 17-3 lead.

Picken's fumble put a damper on his best receiving day of the season. He finished the game with seven catches on 11 targets for 113 yards.

In the second half, when the Steelers scored three touchdowns to get within one score of the Colts, Pickens was involved in the comeback. He caught a 38-yard pass down the left sideline that put the Steelers back in the red zone. On that drive, the Steelers capped off Fields' 5-yard touchdown run to make the score 17-10.

Pickens added a 9-yard reception inside the red zone on the Steelers' next touchdown drive. In the fourth quarter, his 37-yard catch to the Indianapolis 25 was the big gain on a drive that ended with Fields' touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth.

“It’s about seeing the coverage,” he said. “They played man-to-man, and on the third attack it was man-to-man.”

Although the Steelers lack a proven No. 2 wide receiver to draw attention away from Pickens, he has found ways to succeed with Fields as his quarterback. In only one of the four games this season has Pickens caught fewer than five passes or gained fewer than 50 yards.

His 16.1 average yards per catch against the Colts marked a season high for Pickens and was reminiscent of how he led the NFL last year by averaging 18.1 yards per reception.

The goal for Pickens and the Steelers will be to figure out how to be more productive in the first half. In four weeks, the Steelers have scored just two touchdowns in the first half of games, and only three teams have scored fewer points in the first half.

Pickens was asked why the Steelers waited until the second half to get the offense going. His answer may sound familiar.

“To be honest, we’re really focused on the Cowboys,” he said. “You know what I mean.”