PITTSBURGH -- Following a Sunday morning conversation with athletic trainers and wide receiver George Pickens, coach Mike Tomlin opted to make Pickens, who sustained a hamstring injury late in the week, inactive for the Steelers' 27-14 victory against the Browns on Sunday.
The third-year player, who has 850 receiving yards and three touchdown catches this season, popped up on the Steelers' practice report with a hamstring injury Friday. He had been listed as questionable for the rematch with the Browns, and sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Saturday night that there was optimism Pickens would be able to play. Instead, the receiver missed the first game of his NFL career.
"We didn't feel like he was going to be able to play the type of number of snaps that we thought would be worth putting him in a uniform," Tomlin said after the win. "To be quite honest with you, we didn't want a small problem to become a big problem, and so we put a helmet on Scotty Miller, and as you can see, most of the time when you put the helmets on the healthy guys, man, they take care of the rest."
A league source told ESPN that Pickens has a grade 2 hamstring strain.
Pickens' absence also came just a week after his head coach implored him "to grow up" after he was flagged for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the win against the Bengals and incurred more than $20,000 in fines.
Tomlin declined to speculate on Pickens' status for the Steelers' Week 15 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, a matchup that will kick-start a gauntlet of three games in 11 days against some of the league's best teams.
"George is arguably, in my opinion, one of the best receivers in the National Football League," quarterback Russell Wilson said. "Anytime he's on the field, it's a good thing for us. We love George out there. We were hoping he's going to be able to go and everything else, but I think that the trainers and everybody made the right decision at the last second there just, hey, it may not be, we got a lot of season left and we got lot more games and we want him as good as he can be. We don't want something bad to happen to him."
The decision to hold Pickens out was made late Sunday morning, and many in the Steelers locker room didn't find out until the inactives were released 90 minutes before kickoff.
"My dad texted me and said, 'GP's down with the hamstring,'" said tight end Pat Freiermuth, adding the game plan didn't change with Pickens out. "I was like, 'OK, here we go. Thanks, dad.'
"The receiver room, we have a lot of good players in there and they stepped up big-time. And for Scotty to come in today and think he was inactive and then George was down, and for him to flip a switch and come in and make big plays, man, that's credit to him and who he is and the whole receiver room and [wide receiver coach Zach Azzanni]."
The Browns (3-10) were also somewhat startled by Pickens' late scratch, especially after the receiver stoked the rivalry with the Browns in his Friday post-practice interview.
Pickens got in a scuffle with cornerback Greg Newsome II during a game-ending Hail Mary attempt two weeks ago, and this week, Pickens said he didn't know who Newsome was when asked whether he would talk to the defensive back Sunday.
"Yeah, I was a little surprised," Newsome said of Pickens' absence Sunday. "I mean, especially when you do a lot of back-and-forth talking and things like that. Yeah, I was definitely surprised."
But, Newsome noted, the Steelers' (10-3) offense still hummed without Pickens.
"I think they did a good job controlling the game," he said.
After a slow start in the first half, Wilson got in a groove with his receivers and stretched the field. After missing on two attempts of at least 10 air yards in the first half, Wilson completed four of five attempts on such passes for 84 yards and a TD in the second. On the whole, Wilson completed 15 of 26 attempts for 158 yards and two scores. He was sacked once and rushed six times for 17 yards.
Miller and the rest of the receiving corps stepped up in Pickens' absence as eight different players caught passes from Wilson for 158 receiving yards and two touchdown catches.
"The strength of the pack is the pack," Tomlin said of his receivers. "We got a bunch of guys that want to be the reasons why we're successful, and when given an opportunity I think they continually prove that -- whether it's Scotty or Mike [Williams] or Calvin [Austin] or Van [Jefferson] or whoever -- we believe in our group. I know I've said that to you guys repeatedly. Maybe you'll start believing me."
Miller, who was inactive in three of four games before Sunday, played 34 offensive snaps and had a season-high three catches on four targets for 38 yards. The receiver's most crucial catch came in the fourth quarter as he snagged a 21-yard moon ball from Wilson to covert a third-and-6. The Browns challenged the ruling of a catch, but replay showed Miller secured the pass and got both feet in bounds.
"I thought so, but there's always a chance you don't," Miller said of getting his feet down. "So, I was really hoping I did. Ain't got one of those opportunities in a while, so I needed that one. And I'll take it.
He added: "Coach T always talks about 'It's not a lightning strike.' And he said that to me when I caught that ball on the sideline. He's seen what I can do all camp, every week during practice. So, like he says, it's not mystical, it's what we do."
Like Miller, Williams also saw an uptick in his involvement in the game plan with Pickens out.
Williams, acquired at the trade deadline from the New York Jets, came into the Week 14 game with one catch on one target: the winning score against the Washington Commanders in Week 10. But against the Browns, Williams had three catches on four targets for 36 yards. Like Miller, Williams made his most clutch play on a third down in the second half. Williams made a one-handed grab for a 22-yard gain on third-and-6. The Steelers found the end zone two plays later on a 20-yard touchdown reception by Freiermuth.
"I was getting stretched on the table, and Coach Z just came to me like, 'You'll be playing some X [receiver] today with GP out,'" Williams said. "I was ready for it. I prepare as if I'm going to go out there and play every position.
"For us as the other receivers on the team, we just want to show Russ that, 'Hey, we're capable of making plays also.' When you put the ball up there -- Scotty went and made a big play. I made a big play also. Then, the Van [Jefferson] touchdown. When we're out there, we take advantage of our opportunities and make plays."