The box score said George Pickens disappeared. But former NFL quarterback Alex Smith saw something else entirely. When the Dallas Cowboys fell 44-30 to the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football, critics lined up to torch the Cowboys’ star receiver. Five catches for 37 yards looked like a no-show, Pickens’ lowest production since Week 1. But Smith went back and watched every snap. His take? Pickens didn’t vanish; he warped the entire game.

“This guy got doubled all game. And when I mean double, I mean cloud. A corner at hard inside at the line of scrimmage, safety over the top,” Smith noted on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown. broke down Pickens’ coverage. “CeeDee Lamb. There’s a reason he got so many targets in that first half. There was no help with him. It was man-to-man with no help for him all day.”

Detroit put two defenders on Pickens all night long. And it sort of worked. Pickens’ numbers tanked, but CeeDee Lamb got clean all the way until he left the game with a concussion in the third quarter. Even WR3 Ryan Flournoy exploded for nine catches, 115 yards, and a touchdown in the second half. And all of this, Smith noted, was because the Lions’ defense was focused too much on Pickens.

“This guy got everybody else open,” Smith added. “We only looked at his targets and catches and numbers. But listen, this guy got everybody open. He’s running post taking two and they’re hitting deep crosses under it.”

That’s the highlight of a true No. 1 receiver. The kind that doesn’t show up in fantasy points or box scores but changes how an offense functions. Nevertheless, Dallas came to Detroit riding wins over both Super Bowl teams from last season, and left instead with questions about road struggles, Pickens’ effort level, and whether this loss exposed something deeper.

Former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman wasn’t buying into Pickens’ effort, though. On Prime Video’s post-game show, Sherman blasted Pickens for looking “uninterested.” He pointed to late-game clips where Pickens appeared slow while tracking deep balls, even after beating coverage. But these comments started a whole different narrative.

Pickens fired back on social media following Sherman’s comments. In a since deleted post, Pickens wrote, “This is a team game. I’m not the only one on the team. Stop becoming [an] analyst and talking about one player when he playing a teams game.” The spat went viral, but it highlighted a real question: how do you judge a receiver when respect from defenses kills his stat line?

To be fair, the film shows both sides. Pickens drew constant attention. But there were also moments where his body language looked off, as if he knew he was being used as a decoy to create chances for other offensive pieces. The energy just wasn’t there in a game Dallas desperately needed. Even the team seems a bit divided when it comes to Pickens’ production Thursday.

Inside the building: split opinions on George Pickens

In the Weeks past, when CeeDee Lamb missed games nursing his high-ankle injury, it was George Pickens who sparked the offense and became a trusted target of franchise quarterback Dak Prescott. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones expected similar explosions when Lamb left the Lions game.

“I would have thought it would have been Pickens Grand Central,” Jerry admitted. “I’m not disappointed other than the fact that it could have helped us win that ball game. No. I’m not at all concerned going forward about Pickens. I would agree with you that I thought we would have more with him than we did.”

With Pickens’ contract extension looming and his new future with the Cowboys on the line, Jones’ comments carried even more weight. But head coach Brian Schottenheimer took a different approach. Firstly, he addressed the viral exchange between Pickens and Richard Sherman, noting that he “will be talking to him.” Secondly, he defended his receiver, and spread the blame.

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“I don’t think any of us coached or played well enough,” Schottenheimer admitted. “All in all, I’m going to judge George on his body of work, man. His body of work, he’s shown what an elite player he is and what a game changer that he is. I have no question.”

This view aligns closer to Smith’s film breakdown. George Pickens faced heavy doubles. Lamb’s concussion removed another coverage threat. Protection broke down at critical moments. The Lions built a lead and never looked back. One receiver can’t shoulder all that.

Pickens is caught in the middle; producing an invisible value that Smith celebrated while critics hammer what they saw on TV. If Pickens turns this moment into fuel, Smith’s film session wins the argument. If the effort question persists, Sherman’s take gains further momentum. Either way, the Cowboys can’t afford another night where their top-tied offensive pieces look disjointed on national television. They have until next Sunday to fix things before the go up against the Minnesota Vikings.