First Call: Browns player soils Terrible Towel; Myles Jack may return to Steelers; Penguins goalie wears Browns jersey

Monday’s “First Call” has news of a former Steeler likely coming back to play in Pittsburgh. A Cleveland Brown mistreats the Terrible Towel. A Penguins goalie is backing the Browns. The Steelers are already underdogs in Cincinnati. And the Duquesne Dukes know their opponent for Round 1 of the FCS playoffs.

Desecration!

In a blatant act of dancing on the grave of a fallen foe, a Cleveland Browns player committed the ultimate sin against the Terrible Towel.

Cornerback Mike Ford used a Terrible Towel he found after Sunday’s win against the Steelers to wipe his backside.

After their win, #Browns CB Mike Ford threw a Terrible Towel to the ground and gifted a Steelers fan in the crowd with a Browns towel.

He then had other uses for the yellow rag. pic.twitter.com/IUETLYrKC0

— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) November 20, 2023

Ford is not the first player to abscond with a Terrible Towel this year. After the Jacksonville Jaguars won in Pittsburgh last month, defensive back Andrew Wingard took a Terrible Towel for a ride in their 20-10 win over the Jaguars.

#Jaguars Safety Andrew Wingard, the same player who took the "Terrible Towel" away from #Steelers fans on Sunday, says their fans are "Crying" over it and it bring him joy.

Wingard "These grown men crying about their tiny towels is bringing me so much joy. "

Also, after the… https://t.co/LGHJBnKIug pic.twitter.com/mnPXXm2Qsh

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 30, 2023

Of course, this is now the point in “First Call” where I am morally obligated to remind everyone about the bad luck that befell the likes of former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (2005) and a bunch of former Tennessee Titans (2010) when they besmirched the Towel.

I am also journalistically obligated to remind you that both of those Steelers teams were much better than this one.

Mutual change of heart?

After he retired from football a few months ago, former Steelers linebacker Myles Jack (and his mother LaSonjia) bought a hockey team — the ECHL’s Allen Americans.

Now it sounds like Jack might be coming back to Pittsburgh. No, not with Fenway Sports Group as an investor in the Penguins. According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, Jack is going to be back on the South Side this week.

Related:

• Airing of Grievances: Steelers impotent on offense, lack splash on defense in agonizing loss to Browns
• Madden Monday: Steelers should start Mason Rudolph; Penguins should start Alex Nedeljkovic
• Steelers give up winning drive to Browns rookie QB

“I’m told there’s currently an expectation in Pittsburgh that free agent LB Myles Jack will be in the building this week rejoining the Steelers, pending an unforeseen snag, per source,” Anderson said via a social media post Sunday night.

Jack started 13 games with the Steelers last year. He led the team with 104 tackles but didn’t have a single sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery or interception.

After being released by the Steelers after the season, Jack hooked on with the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 4. He retired on Aug. 20 and bought the hockey team Oct. 4.

With Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander out for the season, Elandon Roberts, Mark Robinson and Mykal Walker are trying to hold down the fort at inside linebacker. Roberts made 15 tackles in Cleveland Sunday, Walker had two and Robinson had one.

Interesting wardrobe

Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic spun a 3-0 shutout over the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday night. That’ll win Pittsburgh sports fans over, for sure.

His choice of postgame attire will not.

The Parma, Ohio native and lifelong Browns fan conducted his media interview after the win while wearing a Myles Garrett jersey in honor of his team’s win over the Steelers.

Cleveland man: pic.twitter.com/Za8lPLyiCE

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) November 20, 2023

Since the Penguins game started at 6 p.m., Nedeljkovic couldn’t fully take in the victory. But he soaked it up in bits and pieces.

“I had (the radio broadcast) in my car on the way here. Maybe I had a little longer coffee break beforehand,” Nedeljkovic said. But he didn’t let the end of the game impact his pregame prep much more than that.

I’m happy to report that, despite his affinity for Garrett, at no point during the hockey game did Nedeljkovic remove a helmet from any of the Golden Knights and bash them on the head with it.

Taking notice

It appears oddsmakers took note of the Steelers loss to a rookie backup quarterback Sunday in Cleveland. They have opened as one-point underdogs to the Cincinnati Bengals according to ESPN Bet.

After falling 13-10 to the Browns and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the Steelers will now travel to Cincinnati and face the Bengals with Jake Browning at quarterback. He’s the signal caller there now because Joe Burrow is on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Browning first signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He has only played in two games — both with the Bengals this season.

The Steelers have had mixed results playing against inexperienced quarterbacks in 2023. They lost to Robinson and to Houston’s C.J. Stroud in Week 3. But they beat rookie Will Levis and the Tennessee Titans two weeks ago, and Jordan Love last week. Love is in his third season with the Packers. But this is his first year as a full-time starter.

Neighborly encounter

After clinching the NEC title on Saturday at Merrimack, the Duquesne football team is heading to the FCS playoffs this weekend. And they’ll be facing a regional opponent.

The Dukes will travel to Youngstown State for their first-round game on Saturday at 5 p.m.

WE’RE DANCIN’ #GoDukes | #FCSPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/m9iEH12i63

— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) November 19, 2023

The Dukes posted a 6-1 record in NEC play. That’s their second-most NEC wins in a season and most since going 7-1 in 2011. Youngstown State finished the regular season with a 7-4 record and went 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference earning an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs.

Jerry Schmitt’s team last made the playoffs in 2018, beating Towson 31-10 before losing to South Dakota State 51-6.