George Pickens did not have the season debut anybody envisioned. As the Dallas Cowboys lost 28-20 to the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football, Pickens caught just three of six targets for 28 yards in a matchup that saw him record two costly drops. It was obviously not his night.
The rough performance wasn't ideal, but it comes with a silver lining: there's 16 chances for him to turn things around and prove he's still the same player as last year. And that starts with a Week 2 matchup against former Cowboys DC Dan Quinn and the NFC East rival Washington Commanders.
In all likelihood, Pickens will be matched up with third-year cornerback Mike Sainristil, who isn't exactly the strongest member of Washington's secondary. However, that hasn't stopped Quinn from expressing belief in him after a Week 1 performance that exposed even more holes in his game.
While addressing the media, Quinn said "I've got a lot of confidence" in the young DB, but he says this now. With Pickens hungry for a bounce-back performance, this sentiment may not last very long.
George Pickens could feast on Mike Sainristil in Cowboys' Week 2 matchup
Dan Quinn can be confident in Mike Sainristil all he wants, but we all saw what happened last week. He only surrendered two receptions, but both of them were back-breaking plays: one was a 64-yard catch-and-run while facing Dontayvion Wicks, and the other was Wicks' nine-yard TD reception.
That's a pretty brutal day, and the advanced stats back it up. According to Pro Football Focus, Sainristil's 30.0 defensive grade and 29.3 coverage grade both ranked dead last out of 89 qualified cornerbacks, so he was arguably the worst cornerback in football last weekend.
There is no better remedy for a rough start to the season than a matchup like this. We all know the 25-year-old Pickens is a considerably better big-bodied receiver than Wicks, and with him still playing for a new contract, he's aware every good impression counts. He should expose the Michigan product a whole lot more than he was in Week 1 vs. Philly.
Both players are looking for retribution, but we know who Pickens is. He was one of the best wide receivers in football a season ago, and not only is Sainristil a liability, he hasn't been good since his rookie year.
Brian Schottenheimer and the Cowboys better hunt the favorable matchup and use the star receiver to pick on him. Because that's a matchup they'll win the majority of the time.
So in another divisional matchup where George Pickens has a lot on the line, he has a juicy matchup that he's almost certainly going to help this Dallas offense take advantage of.
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