DETROIT — As evidence, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens pointed people to the data. He reminded people after the team’s 44-30 pivotal loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday that two of his teammates, CeeDee Lamb and Ryan Flournoy, had over 100 yards receiving.
“Which is not talked about enough,” Pickens said.
Because instead, most of the postgame conversation after Thursday’s defeat was centered on him.
Pickens has been a revelation for the Cowboys this season. He went from being a gamble to being a steal — weeks away from an offseason where he’ll surely hit the jackpot. The Pittsburgh Steelers wanted Pickens to grow up before they traded him; in Dallas, Pickens had found the balance between being good enough off the field to match how good he’s been on it. He entered Thursday as the NFL’s second-leading receiver.
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Pickens’ incredible season set a high standard that he didn’t meet on Thursday. He had five catches on nine targets. His 37 yards receiving were the second-lowest of the season and the lowest since the season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition, he was called for two penalties: an offensive pass interference and a facemask.
Pickens was asked this week about his success on slant routes. It’s a route, in theory, that can be prevented with different types of leverage or different coverages. Pickens confidently said he was impervious to such adjustments, saying his success on that route was inevitable.
Against the Lions, Pickens showed that his success can be malleable.
“He made some catches … He made some plays. [But to] George’s standard? That’s tough,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said. “When you’re playing the way that he’s playing, when you’re the type of player that he is, I’d be the first to say it’s hard to do that week in and week out, but I think George can. I know George believes he can. And I think he would say that this game wasn’t up to his standard, and I’m sure he’ll own it and I know he’ll be better.”
Pickens did agree. He acknowledged the high standard he’s earned. He shares in that thinking, too.
“For myself personally, you can’t just disappear,” Pickens said.
Why he did on Thursday is up for debate.
Externally, there’s one perspective.
Former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman said on the Amazon postgame broadcast that Pickens’ dip in production could be attributed to a drop in his effort level. He said that Pickens looked uninterested.
“Uninterested in playing football,” Sherman said. “That’s what you can’t have. If you’re going to be a superstar, if you want to be the best receiver in the National Football League, you can’t ever be disengaged. It doesn’t matter if the game’s going your way or not going your way.”
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Sherman then turned his critique forward. Pickens will be a free agent after this season. The Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones — who didn’t speak after Thursday’s loss — have made it clear that they’re interested in keeping Pickens long term. Pickens’ market value, according to Spotrac, increased to $31.25 million for next season based on how he’s played. That’s over the estimated franchise tag value, which falls around the $27 million-$28 million range for wide receivers.
If the Cowboys are going to pay Pickens, Thursday’s performance — in Sherman’s view — needs to be considered.
“You gotta look at this tape and say, ‘Hey, is this a guy we can trust paying $40 million to show up regardless of circumstance?’” Sherman said. “I don’t know.”
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked after the game about the effort Pickens exuded on Thursday. Postgame, at least initially, he didn’t consider it below standard.
“I’m going to look at it,” Schottenheimer said. “He was being doubled a little bit and when CeeDee went out they just decided to play everything two-man over there and try and double him and take him away. I don’t think so. I’m really proud of Flournoy, of him stepping up and I thought CeeDee before the injury was outstanding.”
Pickens thinks their success shows that he was the center of Detroit’s defensive attention, too. That, Pickens believed, opened up room for Lamb and Flournoy. Pickens said he holds himself to a standard of wanting to make big plays, especially when the team needs him, but he said the performances of the other two receivers showed the team’s game plan had some success.
“Schematically, as a reporter, whatever [Sherman’s] job holds, and he played ball, he has to understand the type of defense the Lions were running.”
Pickens later said: “Overall, as far as the camaraderie of the game, it just didn’t go our way.”
Prescott has confidence that it will go their way again.
“It wasn’t to our standard: simple as that,” Prescott said about the connection with Pickens. “Self-inflicted. The game is hard. The NFL is hard, don’t get me wrong. Obviously, as far as you look at it, it wasn’t easy, but it was all self-inflicted things, whether it be communication, or things we simply have to clean it up, and I know we will.
Prescott then paused for a moment before finishing his thought.
“We’re too good not to.”
Down and out? See photos from Cowboys’ late-season loss to Detroit Lions
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