PITTSBURGH — George Pickens can boast he is always open all he wants. He can bounce his helmet off the sideline turf like a tennis ball as many times as he desires. He can avoid celebrating touchdowns by other teammates if he so chooses.

There is no penalty for petulant behavior.

But there are times when behavior crosses the line into poor taste, and that's what Pickens exhibited Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys when he wore eye-black tape with the message, "Always [expletive] Open."

Never mind that the NFL prohibits players from displaying messages — on their shoes, on wristbands, on eye-black tape — that have not been approved by the league. What is at issue here is not the violation, rather the message itself.

At its core, Pickens' public use of a derogatory and offensive word is needlessly unprofessional at best, and embarrassing to the franchise at worst. But it is particularly demeaning to a franchise owned by the Rooney family, a lineage of Irish Catholic followers who value dignity, faith and community above all else.

Their legacy spans three generations, beginning with Art Rooney Sr., their founder, and stretches to his grandson, Art II, the current owner/president. For seven decades, their idea of a public display is to put the gold, red and blue hypocycloids on just one side of the helmet.

Pickens' failure to be aware of the Rooney legacy, not to mention the lack of respect shown for the family that signs his paycheck, should not be dismissed merely as youthful ignorance.

But he is not alone in this matter.

Just as surprising is the failure of Pickens' teammates, particularly some of the older players, to get him to discard the eye tape. Allowing a player freedom of expression is one thing, being unwittingly complicit in letting him embarrass the organization is another. If you're headed to Las Vegas for the game, feel safe laying a wager that Maurkice Pouncey or Ramon Foster or Brett Keisel would never let that happen.

When evaluating prospects in the draft, general managers and coaches have always tried to gauge how players would react once they received a big contract. The Steelers, for example, got their answer with Antonio Brown.

Difference is, Pickens is already creating a headache for the Steelers with his antics ... and he's still on his rookie contract. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has already witnessed some of that on the field, which would explain why Pickens played the fewest snaps of his three-year career against the Dallas Cowboys.

Pickens has another year remaining on his contract, which means there is plenty of time to start guessing what the Steelers might do.

As for the embarrassing eye-tape message, disrespect aside: If he is always open, why is he the only receiver in the NFL with at least 23 catches who doesn't have a touchdown?

Speaking of surprising stats

— Najee Harris is the only running back in the league with three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons who doesn't have a run of at least 40 yards.

— Harris also has eight consecutive games with at least 70 scrimmage yards, the longest active streak in the league.

— Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, a three-time All-Pro, hasn't had an interception or forced a fumble since Week 16 of the 2022 season, a span of 17 games.

— After leading the league in sacks an NFL-record five consecutive seasons, the Steelers have had just 100 sacks in the past 39 games, an average of 2.56 sacks per game. T.J. Watt has accounted for 29 in 32 games.

— The Steelers have just one road win against the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders since 1995.

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