PITTSBURGH -- With 20 seconds and 60 yards separating the Steelers from a fourth consecutive loss or a miraculous comeback, quarterback Russell Wilson uncorked one of his signature deep passes to George Pickens.
But similar to the three previously thrown to Pickens, it too fell incomplete as it sailed past the wide receiver's outstretched hands and bounced to the turf. Pickens had his man beat, but the pass was too long and the wide receiver couldn't adjust in time.
Leaping as he extended backward in an attempt to make a late adjustment to the ball, Pickens fell to the turf, tumbling until he came to rest in a slumped, fetal position on the sideline.
It was a fitting penultimate play for the duo that couldn't get on the same page throughout the Steelers' 19-17 regular-season finale loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.
Pickens, who didn't speak to the media after the loss, finished with his worst game of the season: one catch on six targets for zero yards and three drops. He also appeared to be upset at fans in the stands behind the Steelers sideline late in the game, gesturing and pointing beyond the bench as tight end Pat Freiermuth attempted to calm him down.
Even so, Wilson expressed his confidence in the mercurial Steelers' 2022 second-round pick after the game.
"I believe in George," Wilson said. "Listen, everything's not always perfect for everyone. This is an imperfect game and everything else. I believe in George, I believe in who he is, the player that he is.
"He's been a star for us all season, and he's going to be a difference-maker obviously for us in the playoffs. I'm looking forward to that and what he can do, what we can do together. And I'm not blinking on George. If anybody believes in him, I definitely do."
Prior to Saturday's regular-season finale, Pickens' season-low output was three catches on seven targets for 26 yards in the Week 5 loss to the Indianapolis Colts with Justin Fields at quarterback. In seven games with Wilson at quarterback, Pickens averaged 76 yards per game when active. He caught three touchdown passes from Wilson in that stretch, his last one coming against the Bengals in the Week 13 win when he caught three passes on six targets for 74 yards.
Asked about Pickens' inconsistency, Wilson pointed to the wide receiver's three-game absence due to a hamstring injury. Pickens missed Weeks 14 to 16, returning for the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day, when he caught three of seven targets for 50 yards.
"It feels like he hasn't made plays in forever because he was out for three weeks," Wilson said. "I mean, it's hard to compile all that and look back and be like, 'Oh yeah, he hasn't made plays in five weeks.' Well, he missed three of them. Last week didn't go our way for whatever reason, then tonight obviously, it didn't go our way. And I think that great players sometimes it doesn't go their way that day.
"But if anybody believes in George, I do. I have no hesitation to throw the football to him and what he can do and what he means to us and our football team and the rest of the guys too."
Wilson, though, targeted Pickens only once through nearly three quarters Saturday night.
"I think it was natural how the game progressed," Wilson said, dismissing the notion Pickens wasn't involved because he was being used as a decoy.
Wilson targeted Pickens early with a quick screen on the Steelers' second play, but cornerback Josh Newton slipped around Ben Skowronek and broke up the play. Wilson didn't target Pickens again until five minutes remained in the third quarter. That time, Pickens dropped the ball as cornerback DJ Ivey tailed him.
"Everybody who guarded him ate today," Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt said. "They didn't do s---. So that was good on our end, man. That's their momentum-grabber. And we didn't let them get no momentum."