Steelers/NFL category, Page 141
First Call: Steelers open as underdogs in Indy, somehow still in playoff spot; Joe Flacco shining in Cleveland
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a train wreck right now. But, somehow, in the wake of all the other NFL results in Week 13, they are still in a playoff position. In Monday’s “First Call,” we get into how that’s possible. Plus, we look at the Steelers’ opponent next week. We...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ back-to-back losses made history, but we’ve seen this before
It felt stupid, didn’t it? Tracking all those AFC games Sunday to see how they would impact the Steelers and the playoff standings. What a fruitless endeavor after how the Steelers performed in their last two games, losing both at home against teams (the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots)...
Madden Monday: There’s a difference between firing Mike Sullivan and firing Mike Tomlin
Everything is bad with the Pittsburgh Steelers right now. Losing back-to-back home games against two-win teams (the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots) has sapped any enthusiasm moving forward for the rest of the season. What’s even worse is that whenever the team is eventually eliminated from the playoffs —...
Bevy of in-season signings hop on moving train for attrition-depleted Steelers defenseVideo
Early in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ three-day break between games last week, Blake Martinez received word he would be starting in his debut with the team. The veteran linebacker immediately recognized the borderline absurdity of his situation. Fifteen days after signing, Martinez was going to be thrown into a significant role...
Steelers 4 Downs: George Pickens seems frustrated with lack of targets. Does he warrant them?
1. Deserving of the ball? A common refrain among Pittsburgh Steelers fans seeking answers for their team’s struggling offense has been a plea to get more opportunities for George Pickens. But the numbers are mixed on if the receiver is being ignored by the play-callers and quarterbacks, or if Pickens...
Late-season collapses not foreign to Steelers, coach Mike Tomlin
It already has been established that the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off the worst two losses in the Mike Tomlin era. No other team in NFL history with a winning record has lost back-to-back games to opponents at least eight games under .500, so how can it be viewed as...
Elandon Roberts fined $21,855, Miles Killebrew $10,927 for actions in Steelers loss Sunday
Inside linebacker Elandon Roberts and special-teamer Miles Killebrew each were fined by the NFL for actions during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals last week. Roberts was docked $21,855 and Killebrew $10,927 for what the league deemed were unnecessary roughness during Arizona’s 24-10 upset victory. Each player was...
Steelers linebackers T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith placed in concussion protocol
Two days after their 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers have placed outside linebacker T.J. Watt in concussion protocol. Watt reported symptoms when he came to the team facility Friday for meetings and film study, Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said Saturday. The NFL Network also reported...
After 2nd straight upset loss, Steelers searching for ways to reverse late-season slide
It was only three seasons ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers, off to a franchise-best 11-0 start, lost four of their final five regular-season games. That slide set the tone for their one-and-done playoff appearance, a 48-37 home defeat to the Cleveland Browns. On the other side of the country, the...
Steelers’ Christian Kuntz, Mike Tomlin in disbelief over false start call on punt
A bob of the head left Christian Kuntz scratching his head, while Mike Tomlin was left figuratively shaking his dismissively. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ long snapper, Kuntz was flagged for a curious false start during the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s loss to the New England Patriots. “I was given an...
After healthy scratch, DL DeMarvin Leal vows to earn way back on field for Steelers
DeMarvin Leal is so oozing with talent, he has never had to deal with what he encountered Thursday. His coaches told him they wouldn’t be needing his services. Leal admitted that being designated a healthy scratch by the Pittsburgh Steelers hurt. “Definitely did,” Leal said. “But it’s the name of...
5 things we learned: Lack of faith in running game late hurts Steelers’ cause
Five things we learned from Patriots 21, Steelers 18: 1. Rundown feeling New England entered the game with the NFL’s third-ranked run defense, so it wasn’t like the Steelers didn’t know they might have a difficult time running the ball. Falling into an 18-point deficit in the first half also...
Mark Madden: Steelers should fire Mike Tomlin
Coach Mike Tomlin should be fired the minute this wasted Steelers season ends. Enough with adhering religiously to what daddy and granddaddy did. When the coach deserves to be fired, fire him. Never changing coaches is supposed to give the Steelers stability. Do these Steelers look stable to you? Tomlin’s...
Steelers vs. Patriots: What they’re saying in New England after 21-18 win
For the first time this season, the New England Patriots had some life. Thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sports writers for the Boston Globe and Boston Herald remarked Thursday night’s game in Pittsburgh was actually entertaining. All at the Steelers expense. “How refreshing, how fulfilling, how doggone good did it...
First Call: Steelers’ upset losses result in historically bad stat; ex-ref disagrees with Christian Kuntz penalty
Friday’s “First Call” puts the Pittsburgh Steelers’ egregious losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots into a historical context. At least one former NFL official thinks the Steelers got jobbed on the Christian Kuntz call Thursday night. The rest of the teams in the AFC playoff picture will...
Airing of Grievances: Impotent offense, disappointing defense, scattered coaching as Steelers gag against Patriots
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t bat an eyelash at the Pittsburgh Steelers getting dusted at home by the New England Patriots. During the height of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick years, that was a common occurrence. However, Brady is long gone and so is that era of Patriots football. They entered...
‘I feel like I let the guys down:’ Mitch Trubisky struggles in 1st start in a year for Steelers
Some of his teammates were long gone. The vast majority of the others had showered and were getting ready to leave. But Mitch Trubisky sat alone in his chair in front of his stall in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room at Acrisure Stadium. He stared blankly forward with slumped posture....
Patriots’ JuJu Smith-Schuster makes big plays, gets win in his 1st game against Steelers
JuJu Smith-Schuster had plenty of reasons to smile late Thursday night. The least of which was when he referenced the color and style of the jerseys bearing his name in circulation in the public. “I probably have more Steelers jerseys still than the Patriots,” Smith-Schuster said. The formerly precocious Pittsburgh...
Steelers suffer 2nd straight embarrassing home loss, falling to last-place Patriots
Just when it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t set the bar any lower in terms of humiliating home defeats, they found a way to limbo under it Thursday night. Fresh off an upset loss to two-win Arizona four days earlier, the Steelers also were no match for the two-win...
Steelers notes: Thin at OLB after Markus Golden scratch, team loses Alex Highsmith in 1st half
The Pittsburgh Steelers made the decision to designate veteran outside linebacker Markus Golden as a healthy inactive for Thursday night’s game against the New England Patriots. Based on the way the early portion of the game played out, they perhaps grew to quickly regret that decision. Golden was their top...
Steelers welcome Thursday night spotlight, though short turnaround presents challenges
When the Pittsburgh Steelers arrived at Acrisure Stadium in advance for their game Thursday evening, it might have felt as if they’d just left. After all, those players and coaches had just left that facility less than 100 hours earlier. Furthermore, it was the second time in a five-week span...
LB Elandon Roberts, RB Najee Harris among injured players active for Steelers’ game vs. Patriots
Four starters who were listed as questionable for the Pittsburgh Steelers are active for the game Thursday night against the New England Patriots at Acrisure Stadium. Running back Najee Harris (knee), left guard Isaac Seumalo (shoulder), inside linebacker Elandon Roberts (groin) and center Mason Cole (neck) will play against the...
No Myles Jack vs. Patriots, but Steelers again elevate Kyron Johnson from practice squad
The Pittsburgh Steelers again elevated Kyron Johnson from the practice squad for Thursday’s game against the New England Patriots, activating the young outside linebacker for a second game in five days. Johnson, signed to the practice squad in October, played exclusively on special teams during Sunday’s home loss to the...
Football Footnotes: Is this the end for Bill Belichick in New England?
Two things seem pretty obvious heading into the latest edition of Steelers-Patriots on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium: 1. There won’t be many points on the scoreboard at the end of the night. 2. No one is going to be confusing this game with any one of the classics involving...
Steelers executive Sheldon White chosen to participate in NFL diversity showcase program
Pittsburgh Steelers director of pro scouting Sheldon White accepted an invitation from the NFL to participate in what it has dubbed the Front Office & General Manager Accelerator Program next week during league meetings in Dallas. White is in his second season with the Steelers but had 20 prior years...
