Joe Rutter stories, Page 53
Minkah Fitzpatrick practices for Steelers; Ahkello Witherspoon misses with hamstring injury
Minkah Fitzpatrick remains in concussion protocol but took an important step toward receiving medical clearance Wednesday when he was a full practice participant for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The two-time All-Pro safety played every defensive snap last Thursday in the 29-17 loss at Cleveland but reported concussion symptoms after the game....
Barring no setbacks, Steelers will face 2nd-year QB Zach Wilson in his season debut with Jets
All that stands between Zach Wilson making his first start of the season when the New York Jets play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday are two more practices. Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 draft, was medically cleared Wednesday to return from a knee injury that kept...
It’s ‘back to the drawing board’ for NT Tyson Alualu after losing his starting job with Steelers
Tyson Alualu met with coach Mike Tomlin on Wednesday morning to learn the reasons he has been demoted to second string on the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart. A day earlier, Montravius Adams was listed as the first-team nose tackle, a pronouncement that comes at the expense of Alualu, who has...
Jordan Berry returns to Steelers after injury to Pressley Harvin III
Jordan Berry is back for another stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 31-year-old punter was signed to the practice squad Tuesday, a day when coach Mike Tomlin announced that Pressley Harvin III is dealing with hip discomfort. Berry was the Steelers punter from 2015-19. The Steelers replaced him with Dustin...
Minkah Fitzpatrick dealing with concussion as Steelers return from layoff to face Jets
Ahkello Witherspoon wasn’t the only member of the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary to suffer an injury in the 29-17 loss at the Cleveland Browns on Thursday. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will begin the practice week in concussion protocol, coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. Fitzpatrick played all 72...
Steelers turn to Montravius Adams at nose tackle while remaining status quo on offense
With the Pittsburgh Steelers trying to snap a two-game losing streak, coach Mike Tomlin is making a change to his starting lineup in advance of their game Sunday against the New York Jets. It’s just not the change most fans have been anticipating. In fact, it doesn’t even involve the...
Short drives by offense putting Steelers defense at disadvantage during 1-2 start
Center Mason Cole knows a way the Pittsburgh Steelers can fix their leaky run defense. It’s not exactly a novel approach, however, and doesn’t even involve players on that side of the football. Cole believes the defense can benefit from not being on the field so frequently as has been...
Steelers’ ground game shows promise but room to grow
For stretches of the first half Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers were utilizing an offensive approach that looked like it had been ripped from the Bill Cowher era. The Steelers were running the ball extensively — and effectively — while building a halftime lead against the Cleveland Browns. Najee Harris and...
Run defense issues resurface for Steelers in loss to Browns
Watching the Pittsburgh Steelers try to defend the run has been like trying to absorb Niagara Falls with a paper towel. No matter how often the Steelers try to sop up the leaks, the water keeps gushing through like a tidal wave. It happened again Thursday night in a 29-17...
5 things we learned: Steelers offense continues to spend most of 4th quarter on the sideline
Five things we learned from Browns 29, Steelers 17: 1. Offense sidelined When Ben Roethlisberger was making all of those fourth-quarter comebacks last season, the Steelers were a top-10 team in terms of possessing the ball in the final 15 minutes. They ranked ninth and had the ball more than...
Steelers peter out, can’t stop Browns in defeat
CLEVELAND – For 30 minutes, a Pittsburgh Steelers offense that had a space reserved on the back of a milk carton was missing no more. Cries for Kenny Pickett were silenced as Mitch Trubisky directed two touchdown drives to give the Steelers a lead on the road against an AFC...
Usual suspects dress for Steelers-Browns game
CLEVELAND — Playing their second game in five days, the Pittsburgh Steelers are making no changes to their game day roster. The Steelers enter their game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium at full strength with the exception of outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who will miss his second game...
Browns’ Jacoby Brissett provides Steelers different challenge than Baker Mayfield
When the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night, they won’t have Baker Mayfield to put on the ground anymore. In the two games between the AFC North rivals last year, the Steelers sacked Mayfield 13 times, including a whopping nine in the penultimate game of the regular...
Steelers’ run defense ready for challenge presented by Browns running back tandem
Mike Tomlin calls the Nick Chubb-Kareem Hunt pairing on the Cleveland Browns the “most complete tandem” in the NFL, with little separation between the two running backs. “They’re not 1 and 2,” Tomlin said, “They’re 1 and 1a.” Chubb, in search of a fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season, already is nearly...
George Pickens is open for business, yet Steelers aren’t getting him the ballVideo
George Pickens is like virtually every young, highly drafted NFL wide receiver. He wants the ball, and he believes he is open enough to get it on just about every passing play. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ second-round pick, though, hasn’t gotten it frequently through the first two weeks of his NFL...
Steelers caught short-handed on Gunner Olszewski’s muffed punt return
It wasn’t bad enough that Gunner Olszewski muffed a punt that resulted in a critical turnover Sunday in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 17-14 loss to the New England Patriots. The Steelers also had only 10 players on the punt return unit on the field at the time of Olszewski’s gaffe. Coach...
Mike Tomlin not ready to panic over slow start by Steelers offense
The sting of a 17-14 loss still fresh in his mind, coach Mike Tomlin on Monday vowed to stay the course with his foundering offense as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to face the Cleveland Browns in three days. The Steelers have produced two offensive touchdowns in nine quarters, fans at...
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin previews Thursday night matchup at Browns
The Pittsburgh Steelers are eager to put Sunday’s loss to New England in the rearview mirror, and they will need to do so quickly in the midst of a short week of preparation. The Steelers will play the Cleveland Browns at 8:15 p.m. Thursday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns (1-1)...
5 things we learned: Steelers’ loss stands apart from others in AFC North
5 things we learned from Patriots 17, Steelers 14: 1. Northern exposure One consolation for the Steelers as they head into a new work week: they still occupy first place in the AFC North. Another is, that unlike two other division rivals, they didn’t blow a big lead in the...
Steelers held without a sack in first game without injured OLB T.J. Watt
Mike Tomlin knew it was impossible to try to replace T.J. Watt in the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. In some aspects Sunday, he didn’t even try. Minus the NFL defensive player of the year, the Steelers ran some defensive formations that didn’t include a second outside linebacker in their 17-14 loss...
Sluggish Steelers drop home opener to Patriots
The Pittsburgh Steelers discovered Sunday that fourth-quarter comebacks aren’t as easy to pull off without a future Hall of Fame quarterback running the offense. Playing their first home game since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, the Steelers were unable to muster any late-game heroics under Mitch Trubisky and dropped a 17-14 decision...
Newly acquired Steelers linebacker David Anenih inactive against Patriots
With the exception of outside linebacker T.J Watt, the Pittsburgh Steelers will go with the same group Sunday against the New England Patriots that took the field in the season opener at Cincinnati. The list of players in the inactives list for the home opener is virtually the same as...
Understudy no more, Alex Highsmith will take lead at outside linebacker in T.J. Watt’s absence
Alex Highsmith is used to being the sidekick to T.J. Watt among the Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker group — the Robin to Watt’s Batman persona. The role suited Highsmith last year, his first as an NFL starter, and he took advantage of the attention paid to the NFL’s reigning Defensive...
Maulet makes up for small stature with big plays for Steelers defense
Arthur Maulet provided the Pittsburgh Steelers with one last chance to win their season opener at Cincinnati with his strip sack late in overtime Sunday at Paycor Stadium. The sack that caused a fumble and resulted in a 7-yard loss that knocked the Bengals out of field goal range set...
Steelers notebook: Najee Harris vows to play in Week 2 despite foot injury
When Najee Harris injured his foot early in training camp, he missed about four weeks of practices and preseason games. Harris left the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opener at Cincinnati late in the fourth quarter because of a foot injury and didn’t return. Neither he nor coach Mike Tomlin expect the injury...
