First Call: Minkah Fitzpatrick sounds off about officiating; Steelers among favorites to land Russell Wilson; T.J. Watt fined

No Steelers game this weekend. No problem for Monday’s “First Call.”

A bunch of Steelers news nuggets cropped up in the days after their Thursday night loss in Minnesota. So we mined them for you.

Among the headlines, Minkah Fitzpatrick is mad at NFL officials. T.J. Watt got fined. The Steelers are one of the favorites to acquire Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. And we take a look at this Sunday’s opponent at Heinz Field.

Fitzpatrick is fuming

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick got hosed on a bad call during Thursday night’s 36-28 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. As of Saturday, it appears he was still angry about it.

Rightfully so.

Fitzpatrick was flagged for an unnecessary roughness personal foul for hitting K.J. Osborn during a first-and-goal pass into the end zone during the third quarter.

It looked bad. But it wasn’t. The hit may have been violent. But it was legal. Fitzpatrick wasn’t late. He didn’t headhunt.

But it looked bad. So the official just threw his flag to cover his own backside based on optics instead of what really happened.

And Fitzpatrick let his opinions be known on Twitter when Steelers Depot circulated a clip of the play.

Very poor officiating. Calls like this can change the outcomes of games. Football is a violent sport. People will get hit hard legally. Receivers running across the middle know what they signed up for. It’s a part of the game. https://t.co/07wFfOxLa1

— Minkah Fitzpatrick (@minkfitz_21) December 11, 2021

A few moments after the play, the network television cameras caught an exchange between the official and Fitzpatrick. It looked like the official may a have been apologizing. But “I’m sorry” doesn’t get a flag off the turf.

Luckily, the play didn’t cost the Steelers points. The throw came from the 9-yard line so the Vikings were likely to kick a field goal if they didn’t score a touchdown anyway. And the Steelers defense held their ground on the next three snaps and forced Minnesota to kick, making the score 29-0.

The fuss over Russ

If the Steelers put themselves in the mix of competition to acquire a veteran quarterback in the offseason, many think it could be Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.

It’s possible Green Bay may end up trading or releasing the future Hall of Fame quarterback.

If it isn’t Rodgers, Russell Wilson’s name has been floated as a possibility. There has been some conversation about 2021 perhaps being his last in Seattle.

BetOnline.Ag posted its odds for which team will land Wilson. And the Steelers were high on the board.

The outlet lists the Denver Broncos as the favorites at 3/1. The New York Giants are next at 5/1. Then the Steelers are listed with Washington and the New Orleans Saints at 7/1.

If it’s my choice, I prefer Rodgers. But I also would prefer Wilson to any other option. Yes, even drafting Pitt’s Kenny Pickett.

Titan-ic game

The Steelers are in 11th place in the AFC. But they are only half a game back of the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills for the last two wild-card spots.

They are only a game and a half behind the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North.

So, despite that debacle of a first half in Minnesota Thursday night, we can’t throw dirt on their graves yet. If they lose to the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field next week, that could be the case.

Given that the Titans are 9-4 atop the AFC South standings, that may seem likely. In fact, BetRivers.com already has the Steelers as a 2.5-point underdog at home. But a closer look shows that the Titans aren’t exactly a juggernaut right now.

Yes, Mike Vrabel’s team is coming off a 20-0 shutout win Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tennessee’s defense yielded just eight yards rushing and 184 yards passing. But it came against the 2-11 Jaguars. Their 180 points are the second fewest in the NFL behind only the Houston Texans.

Those same Texans just beat Tennessee three weeks ago, 22-13. Then the Titans got smoked 36-13 by the New England Patriots two weeks ago.

Because the Jaguars committed four turnovers and nine penalties, the Titans only needed 263 total yards of offense to win.

Tennessee played without star running back Derrick Henry and Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown. Henry isn’t expected to return until Week 18 at the earliest. Brown can’t return from injured reserve until Dec. 23 against the San Francisco 49ers.

Does he need a loan?

T.J. Watt has been fined $10,300 for taunting Baltimore Ravens running back Devonta Freeman during a Week 13 game.

That was according to a tweet from the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The NFL fined #Steelers LB T.J. Watt and #Rams CB Jalen Ramsey $10,300 each for taunting in last week’s games.

The crackdown continues.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 11, 2021

The call was questionable, to say the least. But the Steelers won the game regardless of the infraction. And given that Watt just received a new contract with $80 million guaranteed before the season started, he can probably spare it.