Our final “First Call” before the Thanksgiving break has Mike Tomlin’s attempt to figure out the injury-timeout rule that pinched his team Sunday.

A player some Steelers fans wanted to see in Pittsburgh could now be playing against the Steelers instead on Sunday.

We look ahead to a busy weekend for the Penguins and the local college hoops scene.

Plus, a significant national honor for a graduating Duquesne football player.

Still doesn’t make sense

On Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin discussed that utterly incongruous rule that cost his team a timeout Sunday in Chicago.

With one minute, 36 seconds remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter, the Steelers stopped Chicago on a third-down incomplete pass and were about to force a punt.

But cornerback James Pierre got hurt on the play. Even though the clock was stopped due to the incompletion, the Steelers were charged their final timeout because Pierre was momentarily injured.

That makes no sense. Why is a team charged a timeout for an injured player even when the clock is already stopped? I don’t get that.

The team with the injured party isn’t getting an advantage. Why is the punitive action of losing a timeout (or a 10-second runoff) necessary?

If the clock is running, sure. An injury shouldn’t act as a free clock stoppage. But in the case of the Steelers-Bears game, no such concerns were afoot because the clock had been halted by the incompletion.

Despite service time on the NFL’s competition committee, Tomlin couldn’t even cook up a rationale.

“It’s certainly a more obscure rule. From a spirit perspective, with the clock being stopped, it’s a reasonable question,” Tomlin said. “But I’m just not really familiar with the discussions that we’ve had along those lines as I stand here right now.”

I spoke with CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore on the phone about the rule on Tuesday after his weekly appearance on WDVE.

To add to the mystery, he informed me that on a score, or on a change of possession play — following a punt, a turnover, a kickoff — there is no charged timeout for an injured player during a stopped clock.

So, in other words, if Pierre had gotten hurt one play later on Chicago’s punt, the Steelers wouldn’t have lost a timeout.

Why the inconsistency?

Turn of events

For those who wanted the Steelers to sign former Saints free-agent wide receiver Brandin Cooks, it’s not happening. Instead, he is signing with the other team playing at Acrisure Stadium this weekend.

Cooks has inked a deal with the Buffalo Bills, and he will go right to their active roster.

We have signed WR Brandin Cooks to the active roster.

????: https://t.co/NqnVPOrmnF pic.twitter.com/1QZvGv9gZ6

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 25, 2025

We’ll see if Cooks plays against the Steelers Sunday. At 32 years old, Cooks has 19 catches for 165 yards and no touchdowns in 2025.

Buffalo now has seven wide receivers on their roster, plus Gabe Davis and Stephen Gosnell on the practice squad, and Mecole Hardman on injured reserve.

The club is looking for just one or two of them to develop into steady weapons for quarterback Josh Allen.

Cooks began his career in New Orleans in 2014 and stayed there through 2016, posting a pair of seasons in excess of 1,100 yards and 20 total touchdowns.

In between stints in Louisiana, Cooks played in New England, Houston, Los Angeles (Rams) and Dallas. He has totaled 9,697 yards in his career and 60 TDs. The former Oregon State Beaver has six 1,000-yard seasons under his belt.

Related:

• U mad, bro?: Steelers fans rip media for being too easy on Mike Tomlin, fry the team for loss to Bears • This Thanksgiving, Pittsburgh sports figures owe thanks to Mike Tomlin and the Steelers • Tim Benz: Loss to Bears puts Steelers' non-losing season streak in danger

Hope for the holiday weekend

With just two wins in November, the Pittsburgh Penguins would like to close out the month with a little momentum.

The Penguins play three games between Wednesday night and the end of the holiday weekend. The Buffalo Sabres are in town for the traditional Wednesday night before Thanksgiving party at PPG Paints Arena. Then it’s a trip to Columbus on Black Friday, followed by a Saturday night home affair versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

These are six very attainable points for the Penguins. At 10-6-5, the Pens have 25 points. So do the Blue Jackets (11-9-3). Meanwhile, the Sabres (9-9-4) have 22, and the Leafs (9-10-3) have 21.

Buffalo and Toronto have the two lowest point totals in the Eastern Conference so far.

The Sabres, though, are starting to heat up. They have bounced back from a recent five-game losing streak to win four of their last five, scoring 25 goals along the way.

In fact, at 3.18 goals per game, the Sabres are the NHL’s seventh-best scoring team. Toronto is fifth at 3.36.

They are two of the worst teams in hockey, however, at the other end of the rink. Toronto yields 3.73 goals per game, second-most in the NHL. Buffalo is seventh from the bottom at 3.41.

When Buffalo is in town, the special teams battle will be particularly interesting. The Penguins boast the NHL’s best power play at 32%. The Sabres’ penalty kill is the NHL’s best at 87.7

Getting Izzy with it

Duquesne wide receiver Joey Isabella is a finalist for the 2025 FCS Walter Payton Award. It is presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS football.

???? 66-YARD TOUCHDOWN!@Tyler2Riddell ➡️ @joeyisabella1 all the way to the house! ????#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/8oIEj4xadP

— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) September 13, 2025

Isabella finished 2025 tied for first in the FCS with 13 receiving touchdowns. He recorded career-best totals in receptions (63), yards (839) and touchdowns (13) to close out his career on the Bluff. He ranks third all-time at Duquesne with 163 career receptions and is one of only five Dukes to reach 30 career touchdown catches.

This season, Isabella led the NEC in receptions, yards and touchdowns. He closed his career with a five-catch, 108-yard performance in the win at Robert Morris. Isabella totaled three 100-yard games this fall and scored in nine of 12 games.

Isabella is the second Duke in three seasons to be named a Walter Payton Award finalist, joining former quarterback Darius Perrantes in 2023.

Get ‘em in

Robert Morris and Duquesne are both squeezing in home basketball games before the holiday weekend.

RMU has a 2 p.m. home game at the UPMC Events Center against the University of Illinois-Chicago. The Colonials (3-3) are coming off a 71-70 overtime loss at Monmouth.

Duquesne (4-2) tips at 6 p.m. at the UPMC Cooper Field House against Central State. The Marauders (3-2) are a D-II school out of Ohio. The Dukes just lost a neutral site game in Akron against Northeastern, 93-86. Dru Joyce III’s team is 4-0 at home. At 20.3 points per game, Tarence Guinyard is the Atlantic 10’s leading scorer.

AND 1️⃣ @TarenceGuinyard pic.twitter.com/924Ub2cPvA

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) November 20, 2025

Pitt (4-3) doesn’t play again until a Friday home game against 6-0 Ohio State. This will be OSU’s first road game.

As for the women, Robert Morris is at Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Pitt welcomes Ball State on Friday afternoon (1:15 p.m.). Duquesne takes on Liberty in Annapolis on Saturday and Navy on Sunday.

LISTEN: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer host their weekly hockey podcast.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---