Steelers/NFL category, Page 328
Emotional Ben Roethlisberger sat on bench long after Steelers’ loss; was it his last game?
Long after the Cleveland Browns joyously left the Heinz Field playing surface and almost all of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates had sulked their way into the locker room, Ben Roethlisberger sat on a heated bench on the sideline. His longest-tenured teammate, Maurkice Pouncey, eventually joined him. NBC cameras caught what...
19 Steelers set for unrestricted free agency, including up to 10 starters
The 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers who take the field together for the first time figure to look plenty different than the ones that ended the 2020 season Sunday night. Nineteen players are scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in the spring, plus tight end Vance McDonald has a team option that...
JuJu Smith-Schuster says he doesn’t regret ‘Browns is the Browns’ comment
The Browns might be the Browns, but they’re going on to the divisional round. And they aren’t forgetting what one of the Pittsburgh Steelers said about them. But even after his season ended by way of a loss to Cleveland, JuJu Smith-Schuster didn’t take back his “The Browns is the...
Turnover-prone Steelers bounced from playoffs by big-play Browns
It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not after they won a franchise-record 11 consecutive games to start the season. Not against a team making its first playoff appearance in 18 years. Not to the Cleveland Browns, who hadn’t won any game at Heinz Field since 2003, and didn’t have...
Despite speculation, QB Josh Dobbs among Steelers inactives for playoff opener
The Pittsburgh Steelers played coy with it all week. But in the end, they stuck with what they’ve done all regular season long. No. 3 quarterback Josh Dobbs was among six players inactive and not in uniform for Sunday night’s wild-card playoff game against the Cleveland Browns. Dobbs had not...
Empty or mostly-empty NFL stadiums don’t mean a lack of playoff intensity on the field
The 2020 NFL season’s playoffs are underway, and like just about everything else attached to 2020, it is a unique postseason unlike any before it. And what, arguably, is the most jarring aspect of NFL games played during a pandemic is an abundance of empty seats where there typically would...
Steelers activate Matt Feiler, Robert Spillane, elevate TE Kevin Rader from practice squad
The Steelers activated two players from injured reserve, as expected, and elevated tight end Kevin Rader from the practice squad a day ahead of their AFC wild-card game against the Cleveland Browns. Guard Matt Feiler and inside linebacker Robert Spillane were activated to the 53-man roster Saturday. They returned to...
Four Downs: Browns’ depleted pass defense a good matchup for Steelers
1. Air raid Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback (and Ohio native) Ben Roethlisberger is 24-2-1 in his career against the Cleveland Browns, including 13-0 at Heinz Field. There is reason to believe he can add to that total during Sunday night’s playoff game, based on some of the statistics surrounding the Cleveland...
Browns get back 3 players off covid list to face Steelers
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns flew to Pittsburgh for the playoffs with some reinforcements — and missing some regulars. Top cornerback Denzel Ward stayed in Cleveland as he recovers from covid-19, leaving a massive hole in the Browns’ secondary as they get ready to face Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Odds of wild-card victory heavily stacked in Steelers favor
Last week, against the Steelers’ JV, Cleveland was in a no-win situation…but had to win. This week, with the Browns ravaged by covid and injury, the Steelers are in a no-win situation…but have to win. As of Friday, the Browns had eight players on the covid list and seven players...
Veteran Steelers players aren’t taking return trip to NFL playoffs for granted
Cameron Heyward thought he would have a Super Bowl ring by now. At worst, an appearance. After all, when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2011 draft, the former Ohio State defensive lineman went to a team a few months removed from playing...
Steelers defense will have its hands full with Browns RBs Chubb, Hunt
According to pro-football-reference.com, Nick Chubb finished tied for fourth in the NFL in broken tackles this season with 21. There is no truth to the rumor half of those came during last week’s 47-yard touchdown run against the Pittsburgh Steelers. One of the players who missed a shot to bring...
Free agent-to-be Cameron Sutton shows value starting at outside CB for Steelers in playoffs
Pro Football Focus keeps track of the spots on the field where players line up on a snap-by-snap basis. For Cameron Sutton, the list is lengthy. Fitting for a player who has filled so many roles for the Pittsburgh Steelers in recent years. Sutton is in line to make his...
Chris Boswell, Vince Williams, all other injured Steelers players cleared to play Sunday
Talk about good timing. For the first time since September, the Pittsburgh Steelers ended a practice week with a clean injury report. According to Friday’s league-mandated release, none of the players on the active roster will be prevented from playing in Sunday’s scheduled playoff opener because of injury. Receiver JuJu...
Amazing 2003 comeback remembered as Steelers renew playoff rivalry with Browns
Check out my Triblive story on the greatest playoff comeback in Steelers history. It just happened to be against the Browns. pic.twitter.com/3EGJCMgUpX— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) January 10, 2021 The play was called “Green 40.” On Jan. 5, 2003, the Pittsburgh Steelers were trailing the visiting Cleveland Browns by five points...
U.S. Customs officers seize 60 fake Steelers Super Bowl rings ahead of playoff game
U.S. Customs officers seized 60 fake Steelers Super Bowl rings last month that, if authentic, would have been worth nearly $100,000, a spokesman for the department said. Customs and Border Protection officers seized the packages, which arrived from China, between Dec. 9 and 23, according Steve Sapp, a spokesman for...
Steelers’ T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick named 1st-team All-Pro for 2nd year in a row
The NFL’s third-ranked defense had two players repeat as first-team All-Pros in balloting released Friday by the Associated Press. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick represent the Pittsburgh Steelers on the first team. Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward was named to the second team. Watt and Fitzpatrick earned first-team...
First Call: JuJu’s quote about Browns raising eyebrows, Mike Sullivan still thinks Pens can win Cup
Friday’s “First Call” has a little fuel for the Cleveland Browns’ fire, via Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Cleveland still has questions in its secondary. Mike Sullivan thinks championship hopes are still in play for the Penguins. And a familiar NFL name with local ties surfaces as a candidate to...
Andrew Fillipponi discusses this week’s return to radio following the loss of a child
On Monday, 93.7 The Fan afternoon talk show host Andrew Fillipponi returned to his usual afternoon drivetime host chair after an extended absence. He had missed roughly two weeks over the holidays to stay home with his wife, Amanda, after the loss of their first child. Geno Fillipponi was stillborn...
Tim Benz: Steelers-Browns ‘familiar-unfamiliarity’ for Round 3 — again
For the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, this 2002 flashback thing is a lot more familiar than maybe we realized. By roughly 11:30 p.m. Sunday night, Steelers fans are going to be hoping that the last chapter winds up the same. If it does, expect a few heart palpitations along...
So far, Bucs’ signing of Antonio Brown has yielded bonus, not baggage
TAMPA, Fla. — To this point, the only waves he has created in Tampa Bay haven’t been accompanied by a nefarious undertow. Antonio Brown is creating far, far more separation than scandal. In terms of demeanor and brand, outspoken has been supplanted by soft-spoken. Brown’s first tweet as a Buccaneer...
Steelers must decide whether Matt Feiler, Robert Spillane reclaim jobs they lost to injury
The six-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro right guard just spent two games playing two spots away from a rookie fourth-round draft pick. As impressed as David DeCastro was with the play of Kevin Dotson, he welcomes the return of Matt Feiler to the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line. After missing...
Former Pitt star Alex Van Pelt gets chance to call plays in playoffs vs. Steelers
Since he graduated from Pitt almost three decades ago, Alex Van Pelt hasn’t had many opportunities to ply his trade (football) back in the Steel City. Sunday, under circumstances he couldn’t previously have imagined, the former star college quarterback and longtime NFL assistant coach will finally get a chance to...
Browns place safety Ronnie Harrison on covid-19 list
The Cleveland Browns placed safety Ronnie Harrison on the covid-19 reserve list while they await permission from the NFL to practice before Cleveland’s first playoff game since 2003. Harrison is the latest infection on the Browns, who will be without coach Kevin Stefanski for Sunday’s wild-card game against the Pittsburgh...
JuJu Smith-Schuster added to Steelers’ injury report; Chris Boswell, Vince Williams practice fully
Three days in advance of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2020 playoff opener, their receiving leader did not practice because of injury. JuJu Smith-Schuster sat out Thursday’s session because of a knee injury. Although it is not known with certainty if the ailment is an aggravation of an existing condition, Smith-Schuster regularly...
