The Pittsburgh Steelers ended up beating the New York Jets by 22 points during Week 7. But if not for a pass interference penalty on cornerback Sauce Gardner, it’s possible the game could have been much closer.
Gardner argued while appearing on The Richard Sherman Podcast on November 8 that the pass interference wasn’t a penalty.
“I’m looking back for the ball on a go [route]. I’m not disrupting him at all,” Gardner told Sherman. “After the play, he called the PI. ‘I’m like, ref what did I do? You were pulling him. You were stopping him.’ I said, ‘I did not pull him at all. Not even a little bit.’
“I literally was chest to chest. And I was running like vertical. I wasn’t even leaning on him. I looked through him, then I turned at the last minute, hit the ball, PI.’”
Gardner implied that, if anything, the officials should have called Steelers wide receiver George Pickens for an offensive pass interference penalty.
At the beginning of his conversation with Sherman, the 2-time Jets All-Pro cornerback suggested that’s a foul Pickens could be called for a lot.
“George Pickens, he’s running around, he pushes off. I talked to that ref before the game. I don’t know his name. I’m like ‘Ref, just know, this is going to be a physical matchup. He likes pushing off,’” said Gardner. “Ref says, ‘We watch film too. I know he’s a huge push off guy. We’re going to let y’all play.”
Officials, though, didn’t call Pickens for any penalties against the Jets. Gardner had 1 pass interference foul in the game.
Steelers Use Sauce Gardner PI to Ignite Offense
The Steelers scored 37 points in their victory against the Jets. Quarterback Russell Wilson set a franchise record for most passing yards in a Steelers debut with 264.
But through the first 28 minutes of the contest, the Steelers had only 6 points. Then after an interception from Beanie Bishop Jr., Wilson took a shot down field to Pickens.
He didn’t make the catch, but Gardner committed a 29-yard pass interference penalty.
Two plays later, Wilson targeted Pickens again, this time in the corner of the end zone. Pickens hauled in the touchdown.
That was the beginning of the Steelers scoring 31 consecutive points to end the game. Gardner’s pass interference wasn’t the defining turning point, but it was a major factor in the game tilting in Pittsburgh’s favor.
The two play sequence, though, wasn’t the only time where Pickens shined. Against the Jets, he posted 5 catches and 111 receiving yards.
Does Steelers’ George Pickens Have a Reputation for Pushing Off?
Perhaps the most interesting part of Gardner’s story is him revealing the referee’s reaction to his conversation about Pickens. According to Gardner, the official he spoke to agreed that Pickens pushes off a lot.
That reputation may have resulted in an offensive pass interference for the Steelers receiver in Week 1. Officials called him for that penalty during the second half against the Atlanta Falcons.
However, it didn’t look like a penalty should have been called.
But that’s the only time this season where officials have called Pickens for any penalty. Before that, his last offensive pass interference foul was during his rookie season in 2022.
That doesn’t sound like a guy who pushes off. Or, at least, not a guy that officials are watching to call a lot of offensive pass interference penalties against.
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