First Call: Diontae Johnson defends his route running; Ravens may get star tight end back

In Tuesday’s “First Call,” Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson pipes up on social media. Ben Roethlisberger wonders what the Steelers offense was doing. Weekly honors were awarded for players and coaches at Pitt and Duquesne. The Baltimore Ravens may have room for optimism on the injury front.

And Robert Morris hockey has a rare midweek game.

Diontae’s denial

Monday morning, Diontae Johnson took to social media to defend himself.

The Steelers wide receiver quote-tweeted a post from Mike Frazer of the Fans First Network, which outlined one of the many miscommunications between Johnson and Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett Sunday during the Steelers’ 13-10 loss in Cleveland.

Johnson insisted he ran the proper route on the play.

Ran the route I was suppose to sir. Jus saying anything for likes smh https://t.co/xQpQQkyZe1

— Diontae Johnson (@Juiceup__3) November 20, 2023

After the game, Pickett admitted that he and Johnson were not on the same page.

“We had a couple of miscommunications. It’s something that can’t happen. We’ve got to get it ironed out,” Pickett said.

During his “Footbahlin’” podcast, former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was baffled by what he saw between Pickett and Johnson during a crucial three-and-out series near the end of the game.

“There’s literally nobody there,” Roethlisberger said after a deep ball from Pickett fell incomplete with no one in the vicinity. “I don’t know. I am so confused.”

Ben: "There's nobody there." lol #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/e7s1l7NxJC

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) November 19, 2023

That series began with one minute, 42 seconds on the clock. The Steelers punted just 15 seconds later. Johnson was targeted on all three snaps. All three passes fell incomplete.

“I’m not going to disclose what happened,” quarterback Mitch Trubisky said Monday. “They need to get on the same page. I’m not going to say whose fault it was. Whenever the play doesn’t work, it’s everybody’s fault, including me, including everybody on the team.”

Johnson had just two catches for 16 yards during the game. He was targeted eight times.

Related:

• Tim Benz: Developing QB dilemma just the latest internal Steelers contradiction
• First Call: Diontae Johnson defends his route running; Ravens may get star tight end back
• 5 thing we learned: Steelers' playoff odds don't take a dent despite loss to Browns
• Diontae Johnson admits frustration, won't discuss sideline dispute with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin

Leaving the light on

As it turns out, the Baltimore Ravens may not have lost their Pro Bowl tight end for the season after all.

On Monday, coach John Harbaugh said there’s “an outside chance” that Mark Andrews could return at some point this season. During Thursday night’s 34-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Andrews suffered an ankle injury that was feared to be season-ending.

“My understanding is — in talking with our trainer and the doctors — that it wasn’t as bad as initially feared right after the game,” Harbaugh said via ESPN.com. “It’s a little cleaner than they thought based on the MRI.”

"It wasn't as bad as initially feared after the game... We'll know more, we'll have to see how that goes. There is some optimism."

Coach Harbaugh on TE Mark Andrews: pic.twitter.com/ODzvBQ5GfC

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 20, 2023

The franchise may have more of an answer when he returns to Baltimore later this week after meeting with doctors in North Carolina.

“There might be an outside chance he could get back at some point in time,” Harbaugh said. “So we’ll just have to see how that goes, though. And I don’t want to say that’s definitive by any stretch, but there is some optimism.”

Andrews has six touchdowns to lead Ravens pass catchers. His 45 receptions and 544 yards are second on the team. The Steelers play the Ravens in Baltimore in Week 18.

By the way, the Ravens are signing former Steelers tight end Scotty Washington, according to KPRC’s Aaron Wilson. Also, former Steeler Desmond King went back to one of his other former teams, the Houston Texans.

A good day for Dayon

Pitt senior defensive end Dayon Hayes is the ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week. During the Panthers’ 24-16 win over Boston College on Thursday, Hayes had six tackles, three tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks and two deflected passes.

4th career multi-sack game for @dayonhayes00 ????????pic.twitter.com/TaNPMTDAwT

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) November 17, 2023

So far this year, Hayes has collected 40 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and a forced fumble. The Westinghouse product leads the team in TFLs and hurries while ranking second in sacks.

Hayes was also the ACC Player of the Week for his three-sack performance at Miami (Nov. 26, 2022). The Panthers play their season finale at Duke this Saturday at noon.

Honors well deserved

In the wake of his team’s NEC championship, Duquesne University head football coach Jerry Schmitt has been named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award. It’s given annually to the national coach of the year at the Division I FCS college football level.

Schmitt is in his 19th season at Duquesne. With their victory over Merrimack on Saturday, the Dukes sewed up their sixth Northeast Conference (NEC) title and third FCS playoff appearance in program history. Schmitt’s team finished 7-4 overall, 6-1 in conference action.

POV: you clinched playoffs ????#FCS x ????@DuqFB pic.twitter.com/WjA0vCtjBO

— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 18, 2023

Duquesne improved its record by three wins from last year and finished atop the NEC standings after being placed third in the preseason poll. The winningest coach in program history, Schmitt enters the postseason with a 148-103 record at Duquesne. He is one of 12 active FCS coaches to have at least 100 wins at their current school.

Also, Dukes linebacker Gianni Rizzo was named Defensive Player of the Week in the NEC.

The junior linebacker from North Huntingdon posted a game-high 10 tackles, nine of which were solos, and had 1.5 TFLs in the win at Merrimack.

Duquesne will take on Youngstown State in the first round of the NCAA Division I FCS Championship on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Youngstown.

Out of the ordinary

The Robert Morris hockey team is playing a rare Tuesday night road game in Canisius.

RMU is coming off a home-and-home weekend against Niagara. The Purple Eagles beat the Colonials 6-2 on Friday on their home ice, then won the Saturday return game on Neville Island 3-0 on Saturday.

The Colonials are now 2-6-3 overall and 1-4-2 in Atlantic Hockey play (6 points). They are seeking their first conference regulation win since a 4-3 defeat of Bentley on Oct. 27. The Golden Griffins (2-7-1/1-4-2) are one point ahead of RMU in the Atlantic Hockey standings for ninth place.

This is the start of a challenging week for coach Derek Schooley’s team. They will host Sacred Heart on Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.). The Pioneers have 16 points, good for second place in the Atlantic. They are just one point behind conference-leading RIT.

The Tigers will welcome the Colonials for a weekend series on Dec. 1 and 2.