Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens faced a lot of criticism for his performance in last week’s loss to the Detroit Lions. His effort was questioned by some, resulting in a heated exchange on social media with former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman.

Pickens responded with the second-fewest yards of his Cowboys tenure in the 34-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on “Sunday Night Football” at AT&T Stadium.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he wasn’t sure why Pickens struggled against the Vikings and didn’t know if the recent online comments distracted him.

“I really don’t know, other than they were doing a real good job,” Jones said. “I thought the pressure, I thought that did as much as anything to mitigate the capacity. I never thought that ... communicating on social or otherwise at the end of the day was the deciding factor on the field.”

Pickens didn’t speak to the media after the game. He has 81 catches for 1,212 yards and eight touchdowns this season.

Whether the comments distracted him or not, the past two weeks have seen Pickens have eight catches for 70 yards on 15 targets. He surpassed that yardage total in eight of the previous nine weeks.

Pickens had three receptions for 33 yards on six targets against the Vikings, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer explained how the Vikings made life difficult for the wideout.

“Lot of cover two, a lot of different technique things,” Schottenheimer said. “They change your coverage up a lot. But again, there was a plan to try to limit our explosives, and think he had six targets and only three catches, and that’s not enough. And this starts with me and the offensive staff. We gotta find ways to get him the ball better.”

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott echoed Schottenheimer’s comments, focusing on the Vikings’ blitz packages, which gave the Cowboys fits and contributed to a 2-for-12 conversion rate on third down.

“Honestly, just the zero looks and things like that,” Prescott said. “... And, you know, we tried to throw him just a quick smoke early [in the game] ... and maybe we should have done that earlier. Maybe we should have just thrown a slant. A lot of maybes, I’m frustrated. This was one of the toughest ones I’ve been part of.”

NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth said during the broadcast that Pickens played similarly to how he did against the Lions.

“The effort honestly kinda looks the same tonight. There are some that you question a little bit,” Collinsworth said. “Eleven-hundred yards is unbelievable, what he’s done, and he’s done even without CeeDee [Lamb] in the game, so he’s done it as a No. 1 receiver.

“I just think there’s more in his bag, I really do. If he can unleash himself and just find a way to continue to work even if he is covered, just demand the football out there, he could be a 1,500-yard receiver every single year. He has that type of talent.”

This offseason the Cowboys will have to make a decision on whether to make Pickens one of the highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. It will be imperative that he get back on track before the end of the season to help ensure that payday from the Cowboys or another NFL team.

This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 12:29 AM.

Lawrence Dow

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.