Pickens caught four of six targets for 195 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's 34-11 win over the Bengals.
After a tumultuous week in which Pickens' effort in recent games was called into question, the second-year wideout rewarded coach Mike Tomlin's decision to keep him in the lineup by taking a slant to the house for a career-long 86-yard touchdown on Pittsburgh's second offensive play. Pickens added a spectacular 44-yard catch along the sideline in the two-minute drill to set up a 50-yard Chris Boswell field goal, which gave the Steelers a 24-0 lead heading into halftime. He got free for another long touchdown in the third quarter, this time hauling in a deep ball for a 66-yard score. This was the best game of Pickens' young career, as he set a new career high in receiving yards while scoring multiple touchdowns for the first time. He's up to 1,009 receiving yards and five touchdowns heading into a Week 17 road game in Seattle.