Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has an outside chance of facing the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday after injuring his hamstring during last Friday's practice, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters Monday.
Tomlin said if he had to predict Pickens' status for Week 15, his top playmaker would be out again. "There's a potential for this week, but it's an outside chance. If you press me, I'd probably say he's out, or could be characterized as doubtful as we sit here. But, again, like we always do, we'll go through normal procedure. We'll let participation be our guide in terms of availability and then obviously the quality of that participation."
Pickens suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That type of injury usually requires a player to miss two games before returning to action.
Tomlin acknowledged that Pickens' injury was more significant than the Steelers initially thought. Pittsburgh held Pickens out of last Sunday's win over the Browns, despite Tomlin telling CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson that morning he anticipated Pickens being available for Week 14.
Without Pickens (who leads the Steelers with 850 receiving yards), Pittsburgh's offense started slow against the Browns, not converting on any of their first five third-down situations. Russell Wilson threw for less than 50 yards in the first half before he and the Steelers' passing game found its groove in the third quarter.
In that quarter, Wilson threw touchdown passes to Van Jefferson and Pat Freiermuth as Pittsburgh took a 27-7 lead into the fourth. The Steelers also received big plays in the passing game from wideouts Mike Williams and Scott Miller. Speaking of Williams, Tomlin expects the former Chargers' inclusion in the offense to expand in the coming weeks.
The Steelers will look to start faster on Sunday against the Eagles, who are currently second in the NFL in fewest points allowed. Pittsburgh hasn't won in Philadelphia since 1965. It lost 10 games in Philadelphia over that span by an average score of 28-16.
