George Pickens got the Steelers into the red zone on Sunday on a pass from Russell Wilson.

He promptly shut them down with a celebration penalty on a drive that stalled and was held scoreless on a blocked field goal against the Bengals.

The penalty was Pickens’ second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the day. Both penalties were cautioned by Steelers right tackle Broderick Jones.

Pickens’ finger gun proves costly

Pickens’ second penalty came on Pittsburgh’s first possession of the second half. With the Steelers leading 27-21, Pickens caught a deep ball from Wilson down the right sideline on second-and-7. The 36-yard gain moved Pittsburgh to Cincinnati’s 13-yard line.

But his celebration after the game ensured the referees easily awarded a penalty. Pickens raised his right hand with two fingers extended in a finger gun aimed at the end zone stands in Cincinnati. Pickens was cited for unsportsmanlike conduct, a 15-yard penalty that pushed the Steelers back to the 28-yard line.

After the penalty, Jones pulled Pickens aside to talk to him.

From then on, the Steelers were unable to score a first down. Instead, they gained 5 yards and settled for a Chris Boswell field goal attempt. Cincinnati blocked the kick and the Steelers remained scoreless after initially advancing to the Bengals’ 13-yard line through Pickens’ large lead.

Pickens is lucky that the penalty didn’t result in a sending off. He was previously cited for unsportsmanlike conduct in the first quarter and received a warning.

The Steelers ultimately won that AFC North shootout 44-38. Pickens finished the game with three catches on six targets for 68 yards and a TD.

Pickens had previously been warned of possible expulsion

This penalty also came after a big gain that resulted in a Steelers first down. Pickens caught a pass on the cross-and-8 for a 21-yard gain to the Cincinnati 47-yard line. After the play, Pickens dropped the ball directly into the face of Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt, who beat Pickens on the play and lay faceup on the turf.

The ball drop resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, which the officials deemed a taunt.

The derisive term came with a warning that Pickens would be sent off for another infraction. Luckily for Pickens, the officials didn’t consider his second unsportsmanlike penalty a travesty and he stayed in the game.

Like his second penalty, Pickens’ first prompted Jones to pull him aside to say a few words. On this drive, the Steelers finally scored a touchdown and tied the game at 14-14.

Officials previously declined to flag Pickens for a celebration of Pittsburgh’s first score of the day. In this case, Pickens took a 17-yard screen pass from Wilson for a touchdown, tying the game at 7-7 in the first quarter. With the score tied, Pickens fired the ball into the stands.

It all added up to the full Pickens experience, complete with big, game-changing plays and avoidable post-game mistakes that cost his team.