First Call: A Bengals DB trashes George Pickens; ESPN reboots the Mike Tomlin trade speculation

Monday’s “First Call” features a Cincinnati Bengal talking trash on Pittsburgh Steelers receiver George Pickens. There’s Mike Tomlin trade speculation … again.

We have playoff gambling odds for the Steelers and Penn State. Mason Rudolph got more playing time for the Tennessee Titans. Diontae Johnson made his debut for the Houston Texans.

And you’ll find out what happened on the women’s college basketball court for both Pitt and Duquesne.

If you win, you can talk

Cam Taylor-Britt of the Bengals is talking a good game about Steelers receiver George Pickens.

Via NextGen Stats, Taylor-Britt lined up against Pickens on 27 of his 35 routes. That’s a 77.1% “shadow rate,” allowing no receptions on just two targets for no yards.

Cam Taylor-Britt lined up against George Pickens on 27 of his 35 routes (77.1% shadow rate), allowing 0 receptions on just 2 targets.

Pickens managed to catch just 1 of his 6 total targets in the game, totaling 0 or fewer receiving yards for the 3rd time in his career.... pic.twitter.com/MYZuQUBFkl

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 5, 2025

After the game, Taylor-Britt panned Pickens’ production.

“Everybody who guarded him ate today,” Taylor-Britt said via ESPN.com. “They didn’t do (expletive). That was good on our end. That’s their momentum-grabber. And we didn’t let them get no momentum.”

Taylor-Britt was also the player who got a pick-6 after throwing Pickens to the ground by his helmet in the first game between the teams earlier this season. 

Tomlin trade talk

Given the way the Steelers limped to the end of the 2024 regular season on a four-game losing streak, ESPN’s Adam Schefter is speculating that the organization will receive calls from franchises about what it may take to trade Tomlin away for compensation.

“There are going be teams out there that have watched the way that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season has ended and wonder whether they should call the Steelers to see if they should inquire about whether the Steelers would be willing to move on from Mike Tomlin and move him to another organization,” Schefter said Sunday. “I don’t think Pittsburgh will do that. That has not been what they’ve been about, and there’s no indication that they would. But I do think there are teams wondering whether they should lob in a call just to see if they could stir Pittsburgh’s interest.”

While he doesn't think the Steelers would do it, Adam Schefter thinks, given their late-season struggles, teams will consider calling the Steelers about a possible trade involving head coach Mike Tomlin. pic.twitter.com/g5MaV8nY9L

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 5, 2025

No. They won’t do it.

Whether you or I think that would be a good idea — depending on what else besides a first-round pick the Steelers could get — team owner Art Rooney II would have no interest. He’s in love with the fact that Tomlin has never had a losing season. To him, that’s much more important than the fact that this is shaping up to be Tomlin’s 14th season without a playoff win in 18 tries.

There was discussion about this notion last year surrounding Washington. There had been rumblings involving Carolina the year before.

It’s not happening. It’s engagement farming by Schefter. Nothing more. The Steelers front office thinks Tomlin is the cure for the franchise’s extended stretch of mediocrity, not the cause of it.

Even though the past seven years without a playoff win would suggest otherwise.

More sports

• Steelers heading to Baltimore for wild-card game following Chargers' win against Raiders
• Entering postseason on 4-game losing streak, Steelers have 'choice to respond the right way'
• Airing of Grievances: 'Anemic' offense; late-arriving defense result in Steelers' 4th straight loss

Best of luck

Based on the odds set at BetRivers, the Steelers’ four-game losing streak has really soured the gambling public’s opinion on the franchise’s chances in the postseason.

Of the 14 teams in the playoffs, the Steelers are the team with the longest odds to win the Super Bowl at plus-8,000. The Kansas City Chiefs are favored to win a third straight Super Bowl at plus-325 out of the AFC. The Detroit Lions are favored overall at plus-300

The Steelers are 9.5-point underdogs in Baltimore on Saturday night in the first round of the AFC bracket.

Penn State is in a similar boat in the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions are the longest shot of the four remaining teams in the semifinals. But the oddsmakers have them clumped much closer to the rest of the competition.

Ohio State is a substantial favorite at minus-143 to win it all. The Buckeyes are followed by Notre Dame and Texas at plus-500 each. Then it’s PSU at plus-550.

Penn State and Notre Dame play each other Thursday night. The Fighting Irish are a two-point favorite. Meanwhile, OSU is favored by six points over Texas on Friday.

Interesting matchup

The Steelers are in Baltimore because they lost on Saturday and the Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) won over the Las Vegas Raiders (4-13) on Sunday. That means the Chargers get to play the AFC South champion Houston Texans in the first round. That game will take place in Houston at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, right before the Steelers-Ravens game at 8 p.m.

The Texans improved to 10-7 with a 23-14 win over the 3-14 Tennessee Titans. Along the way, new Houston receiver Diontae Johnson caught his first two passes with the club. This is the fourth team since the end of last season for the former Steeler. He was traded to the Carolina Panthers by the Steelers. Then they dealt him to Baltimore midseason, only to see the Ravens release him last month.

Now Johnson is on the stretch run with Houston, starting off Sunday with 21 yards.

Diontae Johnson picks up a @HoustonTexans first down on a pass from Davis Mills pic.twitter.com/U076xbJt3P

— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) January 5, 2025

Meanwhile, Johnson’s former teammate, Mason Rudolph, split time with Will Levis at quarterback for Tennessee. Rudolph was 7 of 10 for 70 yards in Sunday’s loss. Levis was 9 of 17 with a touchdown. Neither QB threw an interception.

Rough day

Sunday wasn’t good for either women’s basketball team in Pittsburgh.

The Pitt Panthers lost 69-31 at 14th-ranked Duke. Khadija Faye had 17 to lead all scorers in the loss for the Panthers. They dropped to 8-8 and 0-3 in ACC play. The Blue Devils improved to 12-3, 3-0 in ACC competition.

The Panthers are home against Louisville on Thursday.

Duquesne also lost a conference game at the buzzer to Fordham at home. Irene Murua Txintxurreta rolled in a last-second shot to win the game 64-62.

@IreneMurua with the BUZZER BEATER????#Ramily | #Fordham | #A10wbb | #ncaawbb pic.twitter.com/RUR3jeHFjw

— Fordham Women's Basketball (@FordhamWBB) January 5, 2025

Txintxurreta had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Rams. Taylor Donaldson led the team in scoring with 17.

The Dukes got 26 points, nine steals, eight rebounds and two assists in the loss from Meg McConnell. Their next game is Wednesday at St. Joseph’s.