Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens and Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome meet again Sunday when the AFC North rivals square off for the second time in three weeks, a rematch of Cleveland’s 24-19 victory on a snow globe of a Thursday night Nov. 21.
Somehow it still feels like the first time to Pickens.
The mercurial Steelers wideout was physically entangled with Newsome when Russell Wilson’s final pass landed without Pickens noticing. He slammed Newsome into the wall framing the field as the final seconds of the loss ticked off the clock.
“I don’t even know who that is,” Pickens said Friday when asked if he’d talk to Newsome to clear the air from their fracas, which ended with stadium security in Cleveland separating them.
After that game, Newsome said Pickens was a “fake tough guy,” and Pickens said the Browns “are not a good team at all,” crediting their win to snowy, slippery conditions in the second half.
The division rivals meet twice each season and when Cleveland came to Pittsburgh last season, Pickens caught four passes for 127 yards and a 71-yard touchdown. He had four for 48 in the Nov. 21 loss.
Last week, Pickens, 23, was flagged twice for unsportsmanlike conduct, prompting head coach Mike Tomlin to say Pickens must “grow up in a hurry.”
“He’s just got to grow up, man,” Tomlin said last Sunday. “This emotional game, man, these divisional games are big. He got a target on his back because he’s George. He understands that, but he’s got to grow up.”
Newsome was informed after practice Friday that Pickens claimed not to know him and took the high road for now.
“I’m all about the team. Obviously he’s a guy that cares more about himself, and you can see that in the penalties he causes,” Newsome said. “For me, my job is to try and do whatever I can to help the team win. There’s never going to be no one-on-one battle for me. My battle is to try and help my team get the win.
“He does that type of stuff all the time. There will never be a man that could fuel me in any type of way.”
Pickens has a team-high 55 receptions (90 targets) for 850 yards and three touchdowns in 2024.
