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First Call: Raiders blanked in Kenny Pickett's start; Philip Rivers' return at 44; looking at the Lions for next week | TribLIVE.com
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First Call: Raiders blanked in Kenny Pickett's start; Philip Rivers' return at 44; looking at the Lions for next week

Tim Benz
Tim Benz

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Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith sacks Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett on Sunday in Philadelphia. (AP)

Monday’s “Fist Call” recaps Kenny Pickett’s rough first start as a Las Vegas Raider. We examine the Steelers’ next opponent in Detroit. We look at Philip Rivers’ NFL return.

And the Bengals may have lost more than just a game Sunday.

Pickett picked

Former Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett made his starting debut Sunday as a Las Vegas Raider.

It didn’t go great.

The Pitt alum was 15-25 for just 64 yards. That’s a feckless 2.6 yards per attempt. He was sacked four times and picked off once as the Raiders were shut out by another one of Pickett’s former teams — the Philadelphia Eagles — by a final score of 31-0.

After the game, Pickett was asked about why the Raiders couldn’t run the ball (46 yards on 13 carries). He suggested that it was because Vegas is too predictable in that area.

Las Vegas dropped to 2-12 with the defeat. Philadelphia improves to 9-5, atop the NFC East.

Lurking Lions

After the Steelers play the Miami Dolphins on Monday night, they visit the Detroit Lions on Sunday for their Week 16 game.

After getting off to a 4-1 start, Detroit is just 4-5 in its past nine games. The Lions have alternated losses and wins every week, going back to their Week 6 defeat in Kansas City.

On Sunday, Detroit lost in a real shootout against the Los Angeles Rams, 41-34. While the offense put up 396 yards, it allowed L.A. to post 519 and five touchdowns.

In defeat, quarterback Jared Goff threw for three touchdowns and 338 yards. Amon-Ra St. Brown had 13 catches for 164 yards and two scores. Jameson Williams pitched in with 134 on seven catches and a TD.

At 30.6 points per game, Detroit’s offense is No. 1 in the NFL. They allowed 24.6 point per contest, 23rd in the league.

More sports

• Tim Benz: Gap between Steelers, Dolphins close enough to make Monday's game very uncomfortable
• Madden Monday: Penguins' blown leads are 'in their DNA'; reminder for Kyle Dubas to 'get back to his original plan'
• Scouting the Dolphins: Steelers opponent has one of NFL’s best defenses over past month

Coulda been worse

For as badly as things could’ve gone for Philip Rivers in his return to NFL play, the 44-year-old QB found himself and the Indianapolis Colts (8-6) in a tight game until the very end while playing the 11-3 Seattle Seahawks.

Rivers, who last played in 2020, jumped back on the field Sunday and was leading a potential game-winning drive until he was intercepted in the final seconds by Coby Bryant.

That was Rivers’ only pick of the day. He was also only sacked once. But his output was similar to Pickett’s.

The eight-time Pro Bowler managed just 120 yards through the air on 18-27 passing with a touchdown to Josh Downs. That’s a 4.4-yard average.

.

Rough day all around

Not only did the Cincinnati Bengals get throttled Sunday in their game against the Baltimore Ravens, but they may have set themselves up for scrutiny by the NFL as well.

According to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, prior to the franchise’s 24-0 loss to the Ravens at home, the Bengals didn’t remove enough snow from the stadium seats. That, via Florio, is an apparent violation of league policy.

Florio cites the NFL rule book as stating: “Each home club is responsible for having a snow removal plan in place and ensuring that its stadium has adequate snow removal equipment available. Snow and ice must be removed from the stadium before all games. This applies to the playing field, sidelines, seating bowl, aisles, pedestrian ramps, walkways, parking lots, etc. This also applies to the sidelines; snow may not be pushed into piles and remain against stadium walls so that it interferes with standard game or sideline operations.”

The Bengals gave a response to PFT.

“Seat aisles were prioritized and are in good shape. Seats are easily wiped off, and ushers are equipped to help there,” the team said.

We’ll see where this goes with the league. Hopefully, the folks at Acrisure Stadium are paying attention.

That Ravens’ victory pulled them to within a half game of the Steelers in the AFC North at 7-7.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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