George Pickens takes frustration out on Steelers fans in midst of career-worst performance

The Pittsburgh Steelers rode a three-game losing streak on Saturday, with a chance to win the AFC North. The thing is, they needed Bailey Zappe to lead the Cleveland Browns to an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens. Sure enough, they watched the Ravens cruise to a 35-10 victory to clinch the division.

Even with that, the Steelers had the opportunity to clinch the No. 5 seed and eliminate the Cincinnati Bengals from playoff contention with a win. But the Steelers no-showed and had no life, as they lost 19-17 to the Bengals.

One Steelers player that is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons is wide receiver George Pickens. The third-year receiver has had his fair share of on-field controversies, notably post-game fights in losses to the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. In the loss to the Bengals, Pickens had just one reception for zero yards on six targets. Of those five incompletions, three of them were drops.

During this performance, ESPN's Joe Buck highlighted Pickens struggles, and it showed the wide receiver arguing with Steelers fans on the sidelines. Pickens had to be comforted and held back by tight end Pat Freiermuth.

George Pickens argues with Steelers fans during no-show performance in Week 18

It's unknown what was said by the fans to Pickens to cause him to have that sort of reaction. But it will now be a part of the Week 18 highlight film for the wide receiver, who had an all-around brutal game.

Entering the game, Pickens had 58 receptions for 900 yards and three touchdowns on 97 targets in 13 games. Pickens already had a career high five drops on the season. Now, that number has grown to eight.

Overall, the Steelers' offense showed no life or fight against the Bengals, save for Freiermuth being the offense. Through 60 minutes of game time, the Steelers put up 119 passing yards on 17 completions and just 74 rushing yards on 23 carries. This is not acceptable for any team, let alone a team that will be in a playoff game next week.

Now, the Steelers will have to see if they will get the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. If the Los Angeles Chargers lose to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the Steelers get the No. 5 seed and face the No. 4 seed Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round. But if the Chargers win, the Steelers get the No. 6 seed and face the rival Ravens.

Steelers fans will be hoping for the offense to wake up, particularly in the passing game. For that to happen, Pickens will need to haul in his targets, which is what he couldn't do in Week 18.