George Pickens takes a page out of Lamar Jackson’s playbook following disappointing Thursday Night Football defeat

Thursday was not a good night for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it was really, really not a good night for their top wideout, George Pickens. The team undid all of the good will it earned after last weekend's win over the Baltimore Ravens, falling to the 3-8 Cleveland Browns after Jameis Winston and Nick Chubb led a final-minute touchdown drive.

As if that weren't bad enough, Pittsburgh drove into position for a last-gasp Hail Mary into the end zone, only for Pickens to dedicate himself to fighting Cleveland cornerback Greg Newsome rather than making an effort for the ball. Not surprisingly, Russell Wilson's pass was knocked harmlessly to the round, and the Steelers had let a golden opportunity to further separate themselves in the AFC North race slip through their fingers.

Did Pickens take responsibility for his actions after the game? Did he recognize that the team's performance hadn't been good enough, and vow to get back to work and make sure things improved ahead of a crucial divisional showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving weekend? Reader, he did not. Instead, Pickens focused all of his ire on the true culprit Thursday night: the snowy conditions in Cleveland, and how unfair they were to the Steelers specifically.

George Pickens credits snowy conditions, not the Browns, for Thursday night loss

Steelers fans got a huge kick out of Lamar Jackson's response to Baltimore's loss to Pittsburgh last weekend, in which the QB refused to give his rival any credit. Asked a question about his offense's struggles, Jackson was solely focused on how the Ravens "beat themselves".

Now, though, the shoe is very much on the other foot. Thursday night it was Pickens' turn to pass the buck; the mercurial wide receiver wanted nothing to do with anything about how the Steelers hadn't played their best. And he didn't just blame the conditions — he took a swipe at the Browns while he was at it.

"Conditions played a huge, huge part in today's game," Pickens told reporters. "I don't really think the Cleveland Browns are a good team at all. The conditions kinda saved them."

I'm not even sure how to follow Pickens' logic here. If anything, Pittsburgh seemed better equipped to handle the adverse conditions: The Steelers outrushed the Browns, 120 to 85, and won the turnover battle 3-1 thanks to two Cleveland fumbles. While it's certainly true that snow can be a great equalizer against a team with a ton of speed vertical passing, Pittsburgh's emphasis on running the ball and getting after you on defense is exactly the team you'd think would thrive in the snow.

What does Pickens think things are going to be like come playoff time? Will a trip to Arrowhead to face the Kansas City Chiefs in January be a balmy 65 and sunny? The case for the Steelers as legitimate Super Bowl contenders was the reliability of their competitive formula, the notion that a great defensive front and a grind-it-out offense could travel any time, anywhere. If Pittsburgh can't handle a little bit of snow against a team it should beat comfortably, it's time to rethink some things.