First Call: Steelers' blunt assessment of Patriots' offense continues; Jordan Addison returning for Vikings

Tuesday’s “First Call” has some interesting quotes in the wake of the Steelers-Patriots game. The Minnesota Vikings are getting an offensive weapon back in advance of their contest against the Steelers in Ireland.

Derrick Henry suddenly has a fumbling problem in Baltimore, and the Pirates could influence the National League playoff picture.

Not a coincidence?

One thing that has been noticeable since the Steelers’ victory in New England has been the openness with which the players and coach talked about their preexisting belief that the Patriots may be prone to turnovers.

“We identify opportunities, and certainly, he had some fumble issues last year. So, it was an agenda item for us,” Mike Tomlin said of Rhamondre Stevenson, who fumbled twice.

Cameron Heyward followed up Tomlin’s postgame quotes.

“It’s not just him,” Heyward added. “Drake Maye turned the ball over earlier in his career, and a couple of other guys as well. We were really locked in on this as a group that turns over the ball. It’s about making sure you’re there for the opportunities, and you have a good chance to punch it loose.”

T.J. Watt added to that Monday when discussing Maye’s issues identifying pressure.

“We just knew early on in the game that (Maye) had trouble diagnosing coverages, and we just threw a different mix of things at him that made him hold the ball, and we were able to get home,” Watt said.

Usually, the Steelers are a bit more guarded in their critiques of an opponent after a win when it comes to game planning against a weakness of an opposing player (or players), unless there had been some direct trash talk coming from the other sideline.

Maybe the Steelers defense took offense to a pregame quote from Pats head coach Mike Vrabel that made the rounds in advance of their game Sunday morning.

“We’re going to have to handle the front,” Vrabel said of the Steelers’ defense. “We know where they’re going to be most of the time. Obviously it is a physical front, great edge rushers.”

Pats HC Mike Vrabel on Aaron Rodgers, Drake Maye and my new fave Vrabel fun fact at the end of interview. #pats #nflnetwork ⁦@Patriots⁩ pic.twitter.com/OPTDVpjBRg

— Sara Walsh (@Sara_Walsh) September 21, 2025

Despite whatever level of predictability may have existed with the Steelers’ defensive alignments, they sacked Maye five times.

If the Steelers took that as a perceived slight, it wasn’t much of one. But they are certainly doing nothing to quell the discussion about some of the weaknesses they exploited from New England in the wake of their victory.

More sports

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• 5 things we learned after Steelers win at Patriots: raw production from WRs, TEs lacking
• Pat Narduzzi has at least 1 area of confidence coming off Pitt's loss at WVU

Crack in the armor

Speaking of fumbling, that has been a problem for Baltimore Ravens star running back Derrick Henry.

It sure looked like he was picking up where he left off in 2024 with Baltimore. To open 2025 in Buffalo, Henry had 169 yards and two touchdowns. But a crucial fumble from him late in the fourth quarter boosted a comeback win by the Bills.

The All-Pro also fumbled against Cleveland in Week 2, but the Ravens maintained possession. Then, on “Monday Night Football” versus the Lions, Henry had another costly fourth-quarter fumble, which aided Detroit to a 38-30 victory.

Aidan Hutchinson punches the ball out! @Lions recover!

DETvsBAL on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/VMDMLlHgNe

— NFL (@NFL) September 23, 2025

Baltimore fell to 1-2 with the loss. The Lions are 2-1. Henry lost one fumble in the regular season all year in 2024 over 325 carries, plus 42 more in the playoffs.

After three weeks, the Steelers and Bengals are 2-1 atop the AFC North. Cleveland and Baltimore are 1-2.

Back in the mix

A former Pitt Panther will be eligible to play for Minnesota against the Steelers on Sunday. Wide receiver Jordan Addison’s NFL suspension is over.

He missed the first three games of the 2025 regular season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He entered a guilty plea on a DUI-related charge over the offseason.

The third-year pro who transferred to USC before entering the draft posted 911 yards and 875 yards over his first two seasons. He has totaled 19 career NFL touchdowns.

Via Pro Football Talk, the NFL has given the Vikings a two-day roster exemption until Wednesday. They’ll need to create a spot on the 53-man unit by then for Addison.

A lot on the line

Whether the math has said so or not, the Pirates have been eliminated from the National League playoff race for a long time.

But as they enter the final road trip of the season, the Bucs will play a team very much in the hunt.

Pittsburgh (67-89) opens a three-game series Tuesday night in Cincinnati before concluding the 2025 campaign in Atlanta. The Reds are currently tied with the New York Mets for the final wild card spot in the N.L.

The Chicago Cubs (88-68) currently own the top spot, with San Diego (86-71) at 3½ games back. They’ve both clinched slots. Cincy and New York are tied for the third berth at 80-76.

The Reds host the Pirates. Then they wrap up against Central-leading Milwaukee. The Mets visit the Cubs and Marlins for their last six games.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are just a game back of both teams. They host the West-leading Dodgers and the Padres over the last week of regular-season play.

Milwaukee has clinched the Central. The Mets can’t catch East-leading Philadelphia (12-game lead), and the Dodgers are 2½ games in front of San Diego right now.

As far as games earlier this season, the Bucs are 4-6 against the Reds in 2025. The Pirates are starting Johan Oviedo (2-0, 3.52 ERA), Paul Skenes (10-10, 2.03) and Braxton Ashcraft (4-3, 2.62) Wednesday through Friday. Cincinnati will counter with Brady Singer (14-10, 3.86), Hunter Greene (7-4, 2.74) and Nick Lodolo (8-8, 3.44).