First Call: Jaguars' social media account mocks Steelers; Titans rookie QB shines in debut

Monday’s “First Call” has some trash talk for the Pittsburgh Steelers to swallow after their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

We also look at how the Steelers’ next opponent has gotten a boost at quarterback.

The Penguins hope to end their homestand on a high note. And some Pitt and Penn State alumni had good days — even if their teams did not.

Jags taunt

It didn’t take long for the Jaguars to mock the Steelers after their 20-10 win at Acrisure Stadium.

In the wake of George Pickens referring to the Jaguars as having a “hope defense,” the franchise’s social media team channeled “Red” from “Shawshank Redemption.”

And the Pickens meme from his draft night, of course.

Hope is a dangerous thing.#JAXvsPIT | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/qOeoy7fixD

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 29, 2023

Oh, the homage to Bill Cowher’s overreaction to Trevor Lawrence’s “little yellow towels” comment was a nice touch too. Pickens was held to one catch and 22 yards. Meanwhile the “hope” secondary had two interceptions and limited the Steelers to 191 yards passing.

Jacksonville defesive backs Rayshawn Jenkins and Andrew Wingard (who had an interceptions) jumped all over Pickens during postgame interviews.

While speaking with Dewey, I couldn’t help but hear Rayshawn Jenkins discuss George Pickens’ “Hope Defense” comments with another reporter.

So, I had him & Dewey react to it together.

???? ???? #Jaguars | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/ObzYdXHAX8

— Mia O'Brien (@MiaOBrienTV) October 29, 2023

This was the sixth straight win for a road team in this rivalry.

‘You need to calm down’

Speaking of NFL troll jobs, did you see what the Denver Broncos (3-5) pulled off after their 24-9 upset over the NFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) on Sunday?

Of course they went down the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift path and played “Shake It Off” on the stadium’s sound system as the teams were leaving the field.

The Broncos played “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift after beating Travis Kelce and the Chiefs.

Pure savagery. pic.twitter.com/tS8FzkJnbM

— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) October 29, 2023

Via ESPN.com, this was the first win for the Broncos over the Chiefs in 16 tries. It was quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ first defeat in 13 tries against Denver.

Without Swift in attendance, Kelce was limited to six catches for 58 yards.

Look out for Levis

The Steelers’ next game is Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans (3-4). They beat Atlanta 28-23 on Sunday. That stopped a two-game losing streak.

The story of the game was Tennessee’s rookie quarterback Will Levis. He was 19 of 29 for 238 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

WILL LEVIS! 4 TD PASSES!

: #JAXvsPIT on CBS
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/18G0sx962C

— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023

Levis, out of Kentucky, was the second pick of the second round of the 2023 draft. He was the next player selected after the Steelers took Joey Porter Jr.

Fran Tarkenton and Marcus Mariota are the only two QBs besides Levis to throw four touchdowns in their first NFL game. DeAndre Hopkins had three of the touchdowns catches, as well as 128 yards. Derrick Henry added 122 yards from scrimmage.

However, the Steelers are early three-point favorites on Thursday night according to Caesars Sportsbook.

More sports

• Kenny Pickett, Minkah Fitzpatrick injured as Steelers stumble in loss to Jaguars
• 'They cost us the game’ — some Steelers fume over questionable calls in loss to Jaguars
• Airing of Grievances: Odious officiating, offensive offense, dented defense lead to Steelers loss to Jaguars

Familiar names

A number of familiar college names had some highlight moments Sunday.

Aaron Donald (Pitt/Penn Hills) had two sacks for the Los Angeles Rams, even though they came in a 43-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

.@AaronDonald97 is a real scary sight.

@NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/DMxOqc9lV2

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 29, 2023

Another former Panther, Tyler Boyd (Clairton), scored a touchdown for the Cincinnati Bengals against the San Francisco 49ers.

Came out swingin' #CINatSF | CBS pic.twitter.com/G8Zx4nxR0k

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 29, 2023

That was Boyd’s second touchdown of the year. The Bengals are now 4-3, just like the Steelers. They are both tied with the Browns for second place in the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens are sitting atop the division at 6-2.

Then there is Penn State’s Saquon Barkley. He had 128 yards rushing for the New York Giants against the Jets. But it took him 36 carries to do it. That’s a 3.6 yards per carry average.

The Jets loaded up the box against a Giants team that got down to its third quarterback — Tommy DeVito — with Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor injured. DeVito ended up 2 of 7 for minus-1 yard passing.

Ex-Panther turned USC Trojan and current Minnesota Viking Jordan Addison scored for the second straight game. He also had 82 yards receiving. Former Steeler JuJu Smith-Schuster scored a touchdown for the New England Patriots too. It was a 3-yard catch, his only reception of the day.

Quack attack

The Penguins need a win against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night to gain a split of their four-game homestand.

Sidney Crosby and company managed to beat the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. But that was sandwiched between two losses to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday and the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Anaheim is 4-4. The Penguins are 3-5. The Ducks have swept their way through the first three games of a four-stop East Coast swing. They’ve beaten the Columbus Blue Jackets, Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers by a combined margin of 13-9.

The Pens won both games against Anaheim a year ago, 4-3 in overtime at home on Jan. 16 and 6-3 in Anaheim on Feb. 10.