Jerry Jones defends Cowboys' George Pickens against unjustified criticism

Since the Dallas Cowboys last took the field against the Detroit Lions, there has been plenty of criticism directed at star wide receiver George Pickens.

Pickens was criticiszed for a lack of effort against Detroit, with people knocking the wideout for looking disengaged when he is not the top target in the passing game.

Not only have his teammates and coaches come to his defense, but now Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones is defending Pickens for criticism he believes is "not justified."

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Jones also indicated there is more to the story.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens during the first half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

“I think the criticism of this last ballgame is being hard on him. Not justified. I understand what we wanted to do, but there was more to it than met the eye. Let’s just leave it all at that," Jones said during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan.

“A game like that leaves us all wanting more, and of course, when we lost (CeeDee) Lamb, it was glaring if we had any type of play that didn’t work the way it appeared it should work. That’s a mouthful of saying, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a body of work or a season dismissed as quickly as it was with Pickens getting criticized against Detroit. And that’s madness. But I’ll tell you what, he’s had a great week of practice.”

What Jones said carries a lot of weight. Until last week's game, Pickens had been praisesd for his breakout year, and he has been doing everything right since arriving in Dallas.

Unfortunately, the pundits are looking at Pickens past as reason to know what he has accomplished in Dallas. Luckily, a new game goes down in a matter of days, so we will get to see how Pickens bounces back with a lot to prove.

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CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens 2025 stats

Dallas Cowboys wide receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb react during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

CeeDee Lamb: 57 receptions (T-30) for 865 yards (9), and three touchdowns (T-61)

George Pickens: 78 receptions* (7) for 1,179 yards* (3) and 8 touchdowns* (T-5)

(League rank in parenthesis)
* denotes career high

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