The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be absent of WR George Pickens in all likelihood against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Losing arguably the most explosive weapon on your offense is never a good thing, but the Steelers managed to do just fine last Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

HC Mike Tomlin expects the same to continue against what will be the Steelers toughest test yet:

Mike Tomlin Excited for new opportunities in the WR corps

“If he’s [George Pickens] limited, he probably, certainly will be limited at the early portions of the week, It’ll give guys an opportunity to get extended in helmet perspective on their prep, if they are to get expanded roles again this week, certainly,” said Mike Tomlin when asked about other players seeing an opportunity in light of the Pickens injury.

“I think that’s why I’m just so high on the collective,” added Coach Tomlin. “Those guys might be new to us, but they’re not new to the National Football League. They’re pros. Man, they behave that way, whether you’re talking about Scotty Miller or Van Jefferson or Ben Skowronek for that matter. All are guys have been in the NFL, man, and I just think you saw, you know, shades of that in their performance and the consistency of their performance last weekend.”

For the Steelers, winning football games without a true #1 WR is not a problem, or at least not in the regular season. That was evidenced by the 27 points that the team hung on Cleveland.

Those points included completed passes to eight different pass catchers, and Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris each had a handful of impressive runs.

So when Coach Tomlin points to the collective, he means it. And sure, the team will need George Pickens if they are going to achieve their Super Bowl aspirations. But they have no problem winning the old-fashioned way either.