‘We have a block culture’ — Steelers block 2 placekicks in win over Jets; only 1 counts
For the third consecutive game, Pittsburgh Steelers’ special teams produced a blocked kick. And it would have been two on Sunday — if not for a questionable flag.
The one that counted during Sunday night’s win against the New York Jets was when Dean Lowry got his arm up to reject a Greg Zuerlein field-goal attempt late in the third quarter. A 35-yard try, Lowry’s effort kept the Steelers’ lead at eight before they broke it open during the fourth quarter for a 37-15 victory.
ANOTHER @Steelers blocked kick!
????: #NYJvsPIT on NBC/Peacock
????: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/xqEZeyYC2D— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
Minkah Fitzpatrick appeared to have a block on Zuerlein’s second-quarter extra-point kick, but Fitzpatrick was called for “leverage.” Fitzpatrick, Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith and head coach Mike Tomlin all argued the call, which appeared questionable in its nature in television replays.
Leverage is defined by the NFL as “a player jumping or standing on a teammate or an opponent to block or attempt to block an opponent’s kick.”
They called Minkah for pushing off here. Suspend these refs TONIGHT. ????️ pic.twitter.com/dxZpEhk2JO
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) October 21, 2024
The flag cost the Steelers two points because the Jets chose to enforce the foul for a two-point try, which was successful.
No matter, though, in the Steelers’ second consecutive victory. The first came seven days earlier in Las Vegas when Jeremiah Moon blocked a Raiders’ punt. A week before that, Isaiahh Loudermilk blocked a Dallas Cowboys field-goal try during a loss.
“We’ve got a ‘block culture’ here that we embrace,” Tomlin said, “and we embrace it with our work over the course of the week. We’ve got a lot of guys who put a lot of efforts into the techniques that are required to deliver. So I am appreciative of that, it’s pretty awesome, and it’s significant.”
Injury report
Two Steelers defensive players left Sunday’s game during the first half because of injury and did not return: defensive tackle Montravius Adams (knee) and cornerback Donte Jackson (shoulder).
After the game, Tomlin did not provide any substantive update on either.
Adams was added to the league-mandated injury report Friday because of a knee injury. By Saturday, he was upgraded from “questionable” to play Sunday and was cleared to play.
In Jackson’s stead, James Pierre played extensively at outside cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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