Steelers/NFL category, Page 371
Tribune-Review NFL predictions: Steelers’ T.J. Watt to win Defensive Player of Year
The Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes looked like they were ready to defend their Super Bowl title in the season opener Thursday. Can they become the first team in nearly two decades to repeat as champions? No NFC team has reached the conference title game in consecutive years...
Veteran guard David DeCastro ruled out of Steelers’ opener against Giants
The ironman on the right side of the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line won’t be on the field for the season opener Monday night at the New York Giants. All-Pro guard David DeCastro was ruled out of the opener when he did not participate in practice Saturday morning. DeCastro has not...
Steelers plan to approach national anthem ‘as one unit’ before season opener with Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers players plan to take the field as a group for the national anthem Monday night when they open the 2020 season against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Cornerback Steve Nelson indicated to reporters Saturday that the Steelers won’t follow the lead of the Houston Texans, who...
Chance to add to Super Bowl collection inspires Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger in return from injury
The youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl is now 38 and chasing an elusive third ring. It has been 11 seasons since Ben Roethlisberger’s pinpoint touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds remaining provided the Pittsburgh Steelers with their sixth Lombardi Trophy and the quarterback’s second title in...
Four Downs: Steelers proficient at forcing fumbles but can’t again depend on recovering them
1. Fumble Foibles The Pittsburgh Steelers led the NFL in takeaways last season, and it in no small part contributed to their 8-8 record and ability to remain in the playoff race through their season finale. But can that be replicated? The law of regression to the mean suggests it...
2017 draft class was a winner for Steelers, but time together might be running out
They grow up so fast. It wasn’t long ago players such as JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner and T.J. Watt were seen as the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, it appears two of them are mere months from becoming part of the organization’s past. That’s not assured, of course, but...
Steelers have dominated Monday Night Football, especially under Mike Tomlin
Only four teams have appeared more often than the Pittsburgh Steelers on the NFL’s iconic flagship scheduling window, “Monday Night Football.” If the Steelers beat the New York Giants on Monday, no team will have more victories on “MNF.” A victory in the Week 1 Monday opener at MetLife Stadium...
Diontae Johnson returns to Steelers practice, likely to play in opener
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson returned to Pittsburgh Steelers practice Friday, signaling it is highly likely he will be able to play in Monday night’s season opener against the New York Giants. Johnson was listed as a full practice participant on the official injury report a day after he did not...
4 years after memorable college meeting, James Conner, Saquon Barkley face off in NFL
The only time they were on the same field together for a meaningful game, James Conner and Saquon Barkley combined for 276 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns. Two of the best running backs in the respective histories of Pennsylvania’s two biggest college football programs, Conner and Barkley meet again...
Mark Madden: To reach experts’ expectation, Steelers must win 1st 2 games, sweep Ravens
In Pittsburgh, sports fans and the attendant media aren’t brilliant at much. But overrating and overestimating have proven to be specialties. The Penguins had a “great” pre-playoffs camp, whatever that means. They were “flying out there,” especially Evgeni Malkin. That provided pretext for a long playoff run. Actual evidence like...
Fantasy sports podcast: Game 1 paying off some hype. Renewed faith in Steelers’ James Conner?
If Game 1 of the NFL season is any indication, a lot of offseason fantasy league hype about certain skill position players is about to come true quickly. The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans, 34-20, in the Thursday night league opener. Rookie running back...
Breaking down the 2020 Steelers: The special teams
Here is a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 special teams: (Italics denotes player is on the practice squad) Starters: Chris Boswell, Dustin Colquitt, Kameron Canaday Others: Corliss Waitman Breakdown: For the first time since 2014, the Steelers enter a regular season with someone other than Jordan Berry as their...
Giants could offer Week 1 problems for Steelers’ reconfigured offensive line
If the Steelers are searching to find a litmus test for their revamped offensive line, they could do worse than starting the season against the New York Giants. In 2019, only two NFL teams — the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins — allowed more points per game than the Giants...
Ex-Steeler Ryan Clark delivers heartfelt Black Lives Matter message ahead of NFL seasonVideo
“When we’re tired, we take a knee, and we’re as tired as we’ve ever been,” says former Steelers safety Ryan Clark on the state of Black America during this tumultuous year of social injustice. Clark, speaking on behalf of Black athletes in a heartfelt video montage, sent the message via...
Minkah Fitzpatrick much more comfortable in 2020 Steelers debut than last year’s
You wouldn’t have known it by looking at the stat line, but Minkah Fitzpatrick says now that his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers was a frenzied “learning on the fly.” Fifty weeks later, the first game of Fitzpatrick’s second season with the team doesn’t have near the same feel. “This...
Zach Banner one of several linemen who could be in new spots for Steelers in opener
When the Pittsburgh Steelers named Zach Banner the starting right tackle for the season opener Monday night, they lost a popular eligible receiver and blocking tight end in the process. Banner took all but three of his 216 snaps last season as an inline tight end, and if he continued...
Steelers’ Diontae Johnson has foot injury, does not practice 4 days prior to opener
The first official injury report of the Pittsburgh Steelers season has been released. It’s short on names but not on potential impact. Two offensive starters, receiver Diontae Johnson and guard David DeCastro, did not practice Thursday. While DeCastro’s absence was expected, Johnson’s came as a surprise. Johnson, who led the...
Breaking down the 2020 Steelers: The defense
Here is a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 defense: (Italics denotes player is on the practice squad) Defensive end/tackle Starters: Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt Others: Chris Wormley, Isaiah Buggs, Henry Mondeaux Breakdown: Coming off three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and two first-team All-Pro nods in three years, Heyward remains...
First Call: Myles Garrett’s ridiculous quotes about ‘clearing the air’ with Mason Rudolph
Thursday’s “First Call” features some insane statements from Cleveland Browns defensive star Myles Garrett regarding his 2019 helmet incident with Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph. Also, a look at some Penguins priorities for the offseason, Steelers Super Bowl odds and a potential Steelers threat in Week 2 might be out of...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans go after JuJu and ‘Duck;’ Pens fans fret about Jim Rutherford
Normally, this time of year, Steelers fans are mad over what the team did wrong in the preseason as we get ready for NFL opening weekend. So with no preseason games, does that mean Steelers fans are any less concerned? Pfft! Not according to emails and my Twitter feed. In...
Dustin Colquitt ‘excited’ to follow in father’s footsteps with SteelersVideo
Dustin Colquitt estimates he has told the story “thousands” of times. The difference when he relayed it once again Wednesday afternoon was the 38-year-old punter did so for the first time while wearing Pittsburgh Steelers colors. After spending the first 15 seasons of his NFL career with the Kansas City...
Breaking down the 2020 Steelers: The offense
Here’s a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 offense: (Italics denotes player is on the practice squad) Quarterbacks Starter: Ben Roethlisberger Others: Mason Rudolph, Josh Dobbs, Devlin Hodges Breakdown: All eyes will be on Roethlisberger, the future Hall of Famer who, at 38, is entering his 17th NFL season coming...
Zach Banner wins right tackle job, will start season opener for Steelers
Although he has one more year of NFL experience, Zack Banner entered training camp with fewer starts at right tackle compared to teammate Chuks Okorafor. Banner, though, will be the starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they open the season Monday night at the New York Giants. Coach Mike Tomlin...
Ben Roethlisberger expects to be ‘shaking like a leaf’ when Steelers open season MondayVideo
The feeling hit Ben Roethlisberger as he was driving across the Veterans Bridge on Wednesday morning en route to Pittsburgh Steelers practice on the South Side. “I was thinking, ‘I’m actually nervous for this season,’” Roethlisberger told reporters a little while later. “You always have a little bit of nerves...
Saying he ‘still loves football’ despite serious injury, Steelers’ Ryan Shazier officially retiresVideo
Ryan Shazier had to stop to compose himself while recording a prepared statement released Wednesday. Later in the day, he told his wife hearing from coach Mike Tomlin and Vince Williams, likewise, almost made him cry. Kevin Colbert wasn’t as adept at holding in his emotions, choking up while addressing...
