Heinz Field may present a stage for redemption for the Denver Broncos starting quarterback Sunday against the Steelers.

Links between Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers continue to be extracted. Gerrit Cole gets a playoff start for the New York Yankees.

And guess how big the television ratings were for Tom Brady’s return to New England.

All that in Tuesday’s “First Call.”

Return engagement

If Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock replaces injured starter Teddy Bridgewater in the lineup against the Steelers, he says he’ll welcome the challenge of returning to Heinz Field.

A place where things went really wrong for Lock a season ago.

In the first quarter of a Week 2 game last year, Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree clobbered Lock on a strip sack. That hit knocked Lock out of the game and caused him to miss a month with a shoulder injury.

“It will be a good chance to go back to Pittsburgh,” Lock said via Broncos Wire. “Kind of put some of that to bed from last year. It would be exciting for me to take reps, get with these guys, get in the swing of things and see what we can do to a good Pittsburgh Steeler team.”

The Steelers went on to win that game 26-21.

Lock is not assured of starting. But Bridgewater is dealing with a concussion he suffered against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday afternoon. Lock came on the field in relief Sunday and went 12 of 21 for 113 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He was also sacked three times.

Bridgewater won his first three starts to begin the season for Denver. He has yet to throw an interception this year.

Familiar feel

Former Pittsburgh Pirates starter Gerrit Cole will have a familiar job Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

The New York Yankees pitcher will take the mound against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Game at 8 p.m.

Cole finished the season 16-8 with a 3.23 ERA. His 16 wins led the American League, and his 243 strikeouts were second behind Toronto’s Robbie Ray (248).

The right-hander struggled in September, posting an ERA of 5.13 in the month. He yielded 19 earned runs and 46 base hits in 33 ⅓ innings pitched.

Cole started and lost the 2015 National League Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh against the Chicago Cubs. He also lost a decisive Game 5 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013.

In 2019 with the Houston Astros, though, Cole won a decisive Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Divisional Series. He was 4-1 that postseason with an ERA of 1.72.

In all, Cole has made 13 postseason starts. He’s 8-4 with a 2.68 ERA, 108 strikeouts and 20 walks. He had two wins in three starts for the Yankees last postseason.

Nathan Eovaldi will oppose Cole for the Red Sox.

TB 12 makes for good TV

Tom Brady’s return to New England was every bit the ratings success that it was anticipated to be.

Deadline.com reports that the 19-17 victory by Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the Patriots was the second-most watched “Sunday Night Football” game ever with a total audience delivery of 28.5 million, according to updated data from Nielsen.

It was only topped by the 30.3 million on Dec. 30, 2012. That was a showdown between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington for the NFC East title.

This is the beginning

In the second quarter of the Steelers loss in Green Bay, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tried to hurry his team to the line of scrimmage in an effort to penalize Mike Tomlin’s defense for having too many men on the field.

However, Tomlin noticed the trick in the nick of time and called a timeout before Rodgers could get the ball snapped and draw a penalty.

That resulted in the network cameras catching the two opponents jabbing each other with a wink and a nod in their chess game.

Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers sharing a cool moment of respect after Tomlin called a timeout before one of Rodgers’ signature Too Many Men On The Field penalties pic.twitter.com/peW3ocpHvg

— Josh Hill (@jdavhill) October 3, 2021

That acknowledgement of mutual respect swept the internet with many speculating if there was some fire to the smoke about Rodgers wanting to play for Tomlin and the Steelers next year. Many think Rodgers may force his way out of Green Bay in a trade. And as we chronicled last week, Pittsburgh is perceived to be a potential landing spot.

Rodgers fanned those flames last week on Pat McAfee’s show, gushing about how much he likes Tomlin as a coach.

Rodgers did so again after the game Sunday when he was asked about the exchange with Tomlin.

“It’s a lot of respect,” Rodgers said. “I haven’t spent a lot of time with him. I’ve watched him from afar for a long time. A lot of respect for him. I just enjoy the way that he talks about his players. I’ve had some friends play over there. The stories are very consistent with the kind of day-to-day coach that he is. I like his demeanor. He fits that Iron City perfectly.”

Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin. Pals. pic.twitter.com/gA6BbbPxAA

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 3, 2021

Let the bromance begin. Here’s to hoping it ends up in Heinz Field next year.

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