Steelers/NFL category, Page 209
Mark Madden: Diontae Johnson hasn’t performed like the Steelers’ No. 1 receiver
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-7. It’s hard to remember when they were this far out of the playoff race this quickly. Maybe 2003, when the Steelers started 2-6 and finished 6-10. They lost their first four games in 2013 but rallied to go 8-8 and miss a wild card by...
Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin didn’t endorse Bengals’ critiques of his Steelers — but didn’t completely refute them either
The Cincinnati Bengals certainly had a lot to say after they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-30 on Sunday. They questioned the depth of the Steelers’ playbook, the extent of Diontae Johnson’s target share and how much one star player was complaining to the officials. On Tuesday, Steelers head coach Mike...
Steelers’ Tomlin: Opinion on Colts hiring inexperienced Jeff Saturday not ‘worth mentioning’
Like his predecessor, Mike Tomlin came up through the NFL pipeline, making a rapid rise as an assistant coach and coordinator before he was hired as Steelers coach in 2007. Unlike Bill Cowher, Tomlin isn’t about to criticize the Indianapolis Colts — this week’s opponent — for hiring Jeff Saturday...
Steelers’ Alex Highsmith nominated for Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award
Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, whose nine sacks are tied for fifth-most in the NFL, is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. The award has been handed out annually since 2014 with teams nominating one of its players. The list of 32 nominees will be pared to...
Former Steelers Hines Ward, James Harrison make it to Hall of Fame semifinal round
Wide receiver Hines Ward has advanced for the seventh year in a row, and linebacker James Harrison has qualified in his first year of eligibility as the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Tuesday its list of 28 modern-era semifinalists. Ward is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ record holder with 1,000 career...
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin focused on execution, not claims his offense is predictableVideo
Germaine Pratt created headlines after the Cincinnati Bengals’ 37-30 victory at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday when he suggested the Pittsburgh Steelers offense was predictable. Given the way the game unfolded for the Bengals, who used a strong second half to avenge a season-opening loss to the Steelers, coach Mike Tomlin...
Tim Benz: Concept of Steelers ‘stacking wins’ seems like fiction from a galaxy far, far away
For local football fans, the anticipation of Sunday’s Steelers-Bengals game felt like a scene out of the new Star Wars series “Andor.” Specifically, the one from an episode when everyone on planet Aldhani is looking to the heavens for “The Eye.” It’s a beautiful celestial event that is the equivalent...
5 things we learned: Mike Tomlin’s record against QBs drafted No. 1 overall takes hit
Five things we learned from Bengals 37, Steelers 30: 1. Burrowing ahead Thanks to Joe Burrow’s four touchdown passes and 355 passing yards, he engineered a victory that improved his record against the Steelers to 3-2 lifetime. Burrow regained his status as the first quarterback drafted No. 1 overall to...
Najee Harris, Steelers rushing offense has shown improvement in recent weeks
Don’t look now, but the Pittsburgh Steelers — at long last — appear to have put together a respectable rushing attack. After finishing among the bottom four in the NFL in rushing yards per game each of the past four seasons, the Steelers have climbed all the way up to...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ $108 million defense responsible for loss to Bengals … and 3-7 record
The diversion continues, and effectively so. The Pittsburgh Steelers offense collapsed in the second half vs. the visiting Cincinnati Bengals. “They do the same plays over and over,” Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt said. The offense got just 52 yards and one first down in the second half till a garbage-time...
Steelers vs. Bengals: What they’re saying in Cincinnati after win
This time around, Joe Cool did his thing. Harassed and hounded by Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt in Week 1, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow meticulously picked apart the Steelers’ secondary through the day Sunday en rote to a 37-30 win at Acrisure Stadium. Watt still had his moments Sunday, but...
Madden Monday on the Steelers’ latest loss: ‘This defense flat out stinks’
Late Sunday night, WPXI-TV ran a poll asking which side of the ball was more disappointing in Sunday’s 37-30 Pittsburgh Steelers loss to the Cincinnati Bengals — the offense or the defense. The correct answer to the question is, obviously, “both.” But since that was not an option, 77% of...
First Call: Joe Burrow on T.J. Watt’s interception; Steelers-Colts game has different tone; Darrelle Revis’ honor
Monday’s “First Call” has Joe Burrow’s assessment of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt after yet another eye-popping interception. Next week’s game for the Steelers no longer appears to be the joke people were making it out to be two weeks ago. A former Pitt Panthers star is getting a well-deserved...
Steelers offense shows positive signs early before regressing
The first half of Sunday’s game was more productive than any 30-minute span the Pittsburgh Steelers had played all season. For that matter, by the measure that counts most — points scored — it matched the Steelers’ offensive previous high production for any full 2022 game. The second half, though,...
Tim Benz: ‘Airing of Grievances’ after yet another Steelers gut-punch loss
The Pittsburgh Steelers need to get those pigeons back at Acrisure Stadium. Seriously, there were at least 30 of them out there last week. The Pittsburgh Pigeons have the best seat in the house pic.twitter.com/GTkO9qg1tn— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 13, 2022 Maybe if the Steelers had 41 defenders on the...
‘Any player would be frustrated’ — Diontae Johnson lacking production in Steelers offense
Thanksgiving will come and go without the Pittsburgh Steelers’ No. 1 wide receiver having recorded a touchdown during the 2022 season. He doesn’t have a 100-yard game yet, either. During Sunday’s 37-30 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, in fact, Diontae Johnson was Steelers’ fifth-leading receiver in yardage. “Any football player...
Mason Cole, Jaylen Warren among Steelers injured during defeat to Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers starting center Mason Cole, third-down running back Jaylen Warren and special-teamer Miles Boykin did not finish Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals because of injury. Coach Mike Tomlin during his postgame news conference did not give any substantive update on any of his injured players other than to...
Steelers defense fails to hold up in loss to Bengals
On a day when the Pittsburgh Steelers had their most productive game on offense, the defense didn’t reciprocate. Such inconsistency has come to define this season and is a reason the Steelers are off to their worst 10-game start in 19 years. Failing to duplicate its dominating performance from a...
8 days after appendectomy, Minkah Fitzpatrick has full workload for Steelers vs. Bengals
About 15 minutes after he’d played an entire professional football game, Minkah Fitzpatrick briefly looked down at a pair of bandages on his lower abdomen after removing his shirt and before headed to take a shower. They served as proof that Fitzpatrick had undergone a surgical procedure just eight days...
On heels of season’s best run-stopping performance, Steelers await Bengals’ Joe Mixon
For all of the criticism Najee Harris received in the first half of the season, he wasn’t the only running back in the AFC North to endure a slower-than-expected start. Until he stepped onto the field two weeks ago against Carolina, Joe Mixon of the Cincinnati Bengals wasn’t exactly piling...
Steelers 4 Downs: Kenny Pickett excels at short-yardage QB sneaks
1. Kenny would As he enters his sixth NFL start Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has more touchdowns rushing (three) than passing (two). While the latter number would figure to improve, Pickett is creating enough of sample size on one aspect of the former that would seem to make...
Damontae Kazee brings fun, playmaking to Steelers defense
A serious lapse in judgment last October potentially cost Damontae Kazee tens of millions of dollars. A broken forearm during a preseason game cost him half a season. It hasn’t all been roses for Kazee over the past 13 months. But things are looking up for the playmaking safety —...
11 weeks into season, Steelers finally have entire defense healthy
The list is lengthy, but the overriding news is good for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Eleven players were on the league-mandated injury and status report when the practice week ended Friday, but of that 11 only one (cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon) was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Witherspoon...
6 days after appendectomy, Steelers Minkah Fitzpatrick cleared to play in Sunday’s game
If T.J. Watt feels as if he can’t stand in the way of Minkah Fitzpatrick doing something, neither can a small vestigial organ at the junction of Fitzpatrick’s large and small intestines. Six days after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, Fitzpatrick on Friday was not listed on the league-mandated status report...
Steelers to expand Wildcat usage, Najee Harris says
Not unlike a scouting report he might give on an opposing linebacker’s range, Najee Harris on Friday played it straight with a concise assessment of his throwing arm. “It’s good,” the Pittsburgh Steelers running back said after practice. “Good, it’s good.” Can Harris make all the throws he’s asked to?...
