First Call: Ex-Steelers in Tennessee help former team reach playoffs; Steelers' social media team jabs back at Jaguars

The Pittsburgh Steelers are taking particular joy in making the playoffs at Jacksonville’s expense. A pair of former Steelers were at the center of Tennessee’s upset of the Jaguars.

The Penguins are hoping to bounce back from Saturday’s disappointment when they travel to Philadelphia on Monday night. The Robert Morris hockey team had a breakout home series against Stonehill.

And it was a rough Sunday for the local women’s college basketball teams.

All that in Monday’s “First Call.”

Taunting the taunters

For those who believe in the curse of the Terrible Towel, this weekend’s results have provided more ammunition.

As the Jaguars were en route to beating the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium earlier this season, safety Andrew Wingard grabbed a Terrible Towel and started swinging it.

.@deweywingard INTs are #EasyToCelebrate
@budlight | #JAXvsPIT pic.twitter.com/v82IeKuIRx

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 29, 2023

That has ended badly for other teams and players who have mocked the Towel or claimed it as their own. Just ask the 1994 Cleveland Browns, the 2005 Cincinnati Bengals, the 2016 Bengals and the 2008 Tennessee Titans.

Now add the 2023 Jags to the list. Since that incident, the Jaguars finished the season 3-6 and missed the playoffs after a 28-20 loss in Tennessee on Sunday. The defeat cost Jacksonville a playoff spot and clinched a postseason berth for the Steelers.

The Steelers’ social media account wanted to make sure the folks in Jacksonville didn’t forget their sin against Black and Gold karma.

When will yinz learn... https://t.co/hrP3b7U7hO

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 7, 2024

Had the Jaguars won the game, they would’ve claimed the AFC South and been the fourth seed in the AFC playoff bracket.

Plenty of motivation

Former Steelers Terrell Edmunds and Mike Vrabel were part of Tennessee’s upset of Jacksonville in the regular-season finale. Edmunds is a safety for the Titans, and Vrabel is the head coach.

Edmunds had an interception of Trevor Lawrence in the first half.

Wild deflected INT by the @Titans!

????: #JAXvsTEN on CBS
????: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/X0vcyHUoyR pic.twitter.com/gZpdiK9yJ6

— NFL (@NFL) January 7, 2024

Despite being eliminated from the playoffs well in advance of that game, Edmunds said that the Titans had plenty of motivation.

“Conversations in the locker room earlier this week, we knew that this was our last guaranteed game that we could play (together),” Edmunds said after the win. “You never know what happens in the offseason. You never know if it’s going to be the same group. So we were just playing out there for each other, having fun rather than thinking too much. Our season was already over, but we had a whole lot to play for today — just to show each other how much we really care about each other.”

#Titans DB Terrell Edmunds @rell_island6 on finishing the season in style. pic.twitter.com/dXkJ9X7V9M

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 7, 2024

Edmunds was also in coverage on Lawrence’s last incomplete pass of the game intended for Evan Engram.

Stopped the bleeding

Whether the Penguins are over the frustration of their Saturday night home loss to the Buffalo Sabres is still to be determined. The club lost two goals to replay along the way.

That’s a franchise first, by the way.

This is the first regular-season game in which Pens had 2 goals called back on challenges. Let alone in the same period.

— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) January 7, 2024

Now they have a game against their cross-state rivals, the Flyers, on Monday night in Philadelphia. The Penguins lost back-to-back games against the Flyers last month.

Philly won a 4-3 shootout decision on Dec. 2 at PPG Paints Arena. Then they won 2-1 in overtime on Dec. 4 at the Wells Fargo Center. After Monday, the organizations won’t meet again until Feb. 25 in Pittsburgh.

The Flyers had been struggling badly prior to a 3-2 win Saturday over the Calgary Flames. Before that victory, they had lost four in a row and six of seven.

The Flyers have 46 points, good for third in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins only have 42 points, seventh in the division. The New Jersey Devils are currently in possession of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with 44 points.

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• Penguins forward Jake Guentzel declines comment on his contractual status

Highlight weekend

The Robert Morris men’s hockey team enjoyed the best weekend of their first season back on the ice after a two-year absence.

The Colonials beat Stonehill 8-1 on Friday and 7-3 on Saturday. Captain Rylee St. Onge was part of the goal-scoring bonanza with three goals on the weekend.

GOAL! ????

P2 (6:26): Stonehill 0 RMU 4

YOU LIKE TO SEE IT! @ryleest_onge with the one timer give us number four and his 4th of the season❗#BobbyMo #AHA20 pic.twitter.com/mAnSVnPBYG

— RMU Men’s Hockey (@RMUMHockey) January 6, 2024

The last time the Colonials scored seven goals in a game was on Jan. 18, 2019, at Canisius. This weekend, they did it on back-to-back nights against Stonehill.

The Skyhawks are in their first season of D-1 hockey. They are now 0-20-0. The Colonials have improved to 6-13-3 in the first year of their relaunch.

Up next, coach Derek Schooley will take his crew out to Minnesota to play the 10th-ranked Golden Gophers.

Can’t keep pace

The Duquesne women’s basketball team ran into a buzzsaw at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Sunday. They faced a good team on a hot shooting day.

George Mason improved to 11-3, beating the Dukes (7-7) by a final score of 101-75. The Patriots shot 56% from the floor, nailing 18 three-pointers along the way.

Sonia Smith had 30 points and nine rebounds during the win, hitting five three-pointers.

30 for Sonia Smith!!!#BelieveBIG | #Ubuntu pic.twitter.com/oFFOfo4gzh

— George Mason Women’s Basketball (@MasonWBB) January 7, 2024

Megan McConnell had 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the loss for Duquesne.

As for Pitt, they lost 68-58 at home to Georgia Tech. Robert Morris also fell at home to Oakland 64-58.