PITTSBURGH -- Days after Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was embroiled in drama after running routes at less than full effort, wearing an eye black message that read ‘Open (expletive) always,’ and yanking a Cowboys player down by the facemask after time had expired, his teammates came to defend him.

George Pickens, the Pittsburgh Steelers top wide receiver, played a season-low 59% of the offensive snaps in last week's loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Wide receiver George Pickens played just 59% of the snaps when the Pittsburgh Steelers took on the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night – and that was by design, according to offensive