First Call: Tom Brady's colorful assessment of his loss in Pittsburgh; Steelers underdogs again in Miami

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have stopped their losing streak, but they are still underdogs to begin Week 7.

Tom Brady colorfully assesses his performance against the Steelers—and his even more colorful language during the game.

Plus, we check in on some ups and downs for a few former Penguins. And the latest on how an ex-Pirates pitcher was impacted by Monday night’s rainout in the American League Divisional Series.

All that in Tuesday’s “First Call.”

Still some convincing to do

The gambling public isn’t buying the Steelers after their win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Via BetRivers.com, the Steelers are still a touchdown underdog heading into their Sunday night game against the Miami Dolphins.

The Steelers have been underdogs in five of their six games so far, favored only against the New York Jets at home — a game they eventually lost. Against the spread, the Steelers are 2-3 with one push according to Bet Rivers.

As they have been on the actual scoreboard, the Dolphins are 3-3 against the spread so far in 2022, 1-1 as a favorite.

The Steelers haven’t played in Miami since 2016, a 30-15 loss. The last win for Mike Tomlin and company in South Florida occurred back in 2010, a 23-22 victory on Oct. 24.

Overall, via Football DataBase, the Steelers have a 15-13 series edge on the Dolphins.

More sports

• Ben Roethlisberger on Tom Brady: 'It didn’t look like he wanted to be out there ... It just looked like a different Tom'
• Tim Benz: Mitch Trubisky must embrace what made him successful vs. Buccaneers
• 5 things we learned: Steelers WR Chase Claypool emerges as prime target in critical 3rd-down moments

A different way to look at it

Tom Brady didn’t mince words when describing his performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

“It’s a bad day when there’s more F-bombs than touchdowns,” Brady said on his “Let’s Go!” podcast on Sirius XM. “So that was not one of my better days.”

Brady was referencing the now viral clip of him tearing into his offensive lineman during the 20-18 loss to the Steelers.

“F-bombs, they used to kind of keep from showing you in those moments but now it’s kind of for the world to see. So that’s just the way it is,” Brady said as transcribed by ProFootballTalk.

Brady was just 25 of 40 for 243 yards against a Steelers secondary that played without Minkah Fitzpatrick, Levi Wallace, Cameron Sutton and Ahkello Witherspoon. Brady had one touchdown pass and was sacked twice.

Perron’s performance

Former Penguin David Perron is off to a good start with his newest team.

Perron scored two goals Monday night for the Detroit Red Wings in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

.@DP_57 in this wheelhouse. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/rPHZD4NEVb

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 18, 2022

The 34-year-old Perron has three goals on the season now. The Wings are his sixth team.

Another former Penguin, Oskar Sundqvist, scored along the way for the Wings. The Kings will be the next opponent for the Penguins. Those teams play each other at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night.

Los Angeles is 2-2. The Pens are 2-0-1 after Monday’s overtime loss in Montreal.

Making do

The Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to figure out their goaltending situation without Matt Murray.

The former Penguins goalie lost his first start with Toronto 4-3 to Montreal. Now he is on long-term injured reserve with an adductor injury.

The team won its first game with Murray sidelined against the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Saturday. Ilya Samsonov stopped 25 shots. Rookie Erik Kallgren was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis to back up.

Kallgren got the start on Monday against the previously winless Arizona Coyotes and lost 4-2. Kallgren allowed three goals on 18 shots.

Shayne Gostisbehere tallied a late power-play goal to take the lead for Arizona.

GHOST FOR THE LATE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/w8z0ffOppJ

— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) October 18, 2022

According to ESPN.com, Murray is expected to miss at least four weeks.

Taillon tabled

Jameson Taillon won’t have a chance to start the decisive Game 5 of the ALDS after all.

The former Pirates pitcher was scheduled to do so on Monday. But the game against the Cleveland Guardians was rained out in New York. Now that the contest has been rescheduled for Tuesday at 4:07 p.m., the Yankees have decided to go with All-Star Nestor Cortes instead. Cortes is 5-1 since the All-Star break, with an ERA of 2.07. Taillon is 5-3 with an ERA of 3.80.

Aaron Civale, who was slated to start for the Guardians Monday, is still expected to get the call on Tuesday. He has had four starts since Sept. 20. Cleveland has won them all with his ERA at 3.27. He hasn’t pitched since Oct. 5.