Category: Football

Let’s chat

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys close out the Sunday portion of Week 16 on Sunday Night Football.

The Bucs are 3.5 point favorites, and I will take them to win and cover.

The Bucs’ defense is suspect, but the Cowboys aren’t going to be able to go throw-for-throw with Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans.

Final prediction: Buccaneers 27, Cowboys 18

What are your predictions for tonight’s game? Join your fellow Steelers fans in the comments for the first open thread of the week.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are on a mega-short turnaround this week, set to host the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday, December 25 — one of two games on the Christmas Day slate. Despite having just played Saturday afternoon, the black and gold are already onto the following week, issuing the first estimated practice report ahead of Week 17.

Here’s a full breakdown of Steelers injury report for Sunday, December 22 ahead of Week 17’s meeting against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Steelers estimated injury report: Sunday, Dec. 22

DNP: QB Justin Fields (abdomen), WR Ben Skowronek (hip), CB Joey Porter Jr. (knee), LB Tyler Matakevich (knee)

Limited: WR George Pickens (hamstring), S DeShon Elliott (hamstring), CB Donte Jackson (back), DT Larry Ogunjobi

Veteran Rest Day: WR Mike Williams, LB Elandon Roberts, LG Isaac Seumalo, LB T.J. Watt, DT Cameron Heyward

It was a fairly busy initial injury report ahead of Week 17, but HC Mike Tomlin did provide some positive updates that should encourage fans ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. Though four players were listed as DNPs on Sunday’s estimated report, HC Mike Tomlin expressed some confidence in the potential availability for each of the four players who were listed as limited — George Pickens, DeShon Elliott, Donte Jackson and Larry Ogunjobi. Each of those four missed Week 16 with their respective injuries and were sorely missed in Saturday’s loss against the Baltimore Ravens.

Decompression Edition

• Minnesota @ Seattle; MIN -3: 4:05 PM ET
• New England @ Buffalo; BUF -14: 4:25 PM
• Jacksonville @ Las Vegas; LV -1.5
• San Francisco @ Miami; MIA -1

Let us know which game you’re watching.

Let’s sit back and enjoy some late games and conversation with fellow Steelers fans.

George Pickens has missed the Steelers’ past three games, but he might be back in time for the team’s upcoming Christmas Day contest. Head coach Mike Tomlin noted the third-year receiver has a “real chance” to suit up for Pittsburgh’s game against Kansas City.

A Grade 2 hamstring strain has led to Pickens being sidelined for the first time in his NFL career, and his absence has been apparent on offense. The Steelers have averaged 248 yards per game without Pickens available, a sharp decline from their season average of 325. With the threat of explosive passing plays diminished, Pittsburgh’s rushing attack has understandably suffered as well.

Tomlin named Pickens, along with backup quarterback Justin Fields, defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, safety DeShon Elliott and cornerback Donte Jackson as players who missed yesterday’s loss to the Ravens but could return on Wednesday (h/t ESPN’s Brooke Pryor). Getting healthier on defense would certainly be a welcomed development as the Steelers prepare to face the Chiefs and Bengals to close out the regular season. Seeing Pickens return would help provide the opportunity for a turnaround in the passing game, though.

The 23-year-old established himself as a key figure on offense during his rookie season, and his production took a step forward last year. Pickens’ 63-1,140-5 statline demonstrated his impact in the passing game, and his 18.1 yards per reception average led the league. Entering the 2024 season as not just a premier deep target but the undisputed No. 1 receiver for Pittsburgh, the Georgia product has delivered when healthy with a career-high 70.8 yards per game. The Steelers were linked to several notable WR pursuits before and during the campaign, but the team’s only move on that front was the rental addition of Mike Williams at the trade deadline.

By losing yesterday, the Steelers failed to clinch top spot in the AFC North. They still control their destiny in that regard, however, and winning their final two games would guarantee at least one home playoff contest. Getting Pickens back in the lineup in time for a matchup with the 14-1 Chiefs would boost Pittsburgh’s chances of reaching that goal.

The Pittsburgh Steelers traveled back home from Saturday’s loss without an AFC North title but with plenty of concern about the status of their injured players on such a short turnaround. They’ll play their Week 17 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday this week — somewhere right around 3 days, 18 hours and 30 minutes after concluding their previous matchup.

Given the abridged schedule this week, HC Mike Tomlin held his weekly press conference on Sunday afternoon, providing several key injury updates coming out of Week 16.

The good news? Several of the players who missed Week 16 due to injury have a shot to suit up in Week 17, HC Mike Tomlin shared, including QB Justin Fields, S DeShon Elliott, CB Donte Jackson, WR George Pickens and DT Larry Ogunjobi. He didn’t guarantee anything, of course, stating that the team would “see where the week leads us.”

The bad news, however, is… pretty bad. Tomlin noted that second-year star cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who exited Week 16’s loss with a knee injury, is questionable — an absence that would certainly be felt in any matchup, but especially so against a multifaceted Kansas City Chiefs offense which just added Hollywood Brown back into the mix returning from injury.

Porter’s injury was initially reported as a calf, but reporting from Nick Farabaugh of Penn Live after the game indicated that there was concern for a PCL injury, which could indicate some potential for missed time on the horizon — terrible news at this juncture of the season with the postseason so quickly approaching and an AFC North title on the line.

Tomlin also noted that WR Ben Skowronek is questionable, having sustained a hip injury in Week 16. He’d initially left the game for evaluation though he did return after halftime, playing 18 total snaps throughout the game in a limited role. His absence would be less significant than Porter’s, of course, especially with Pickens potentially back in the mix, however he does play a crucial role on special teams.

The Steelers kick off against the Chiefs on Wednesday, December 25 at 1 p.m. ET from Acrisure Stadium. We’ll soon find out just how healthy this roster is.

Hangover Recovery Edition

New York (the big ones) @ Atlanta; ATL -9: 1:00 PM ET

Detroit @ Chicago: DET -6.5

Cleveland @ Cincinnati; CIN -7.5

Tennessee @ Indianapolis; IND -3.5

Los Angeles @ New York (the fast ones); LAR -3

Philadelphia @ Washington; PHI -3.5

Arizona @ Carolina; ARI -5

Let us know who you’re watching and why?

Let’s sit back and enjoy some early games and conversation with fellow Steelers fans.

Winners and losers from Week 16

The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped their second straight game to fall to 10-5 on the year in what was just their second loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the last 10 games. As always, let’s highlight the good and bad performances.

Varsity

WR Calvin Austin

I was very wrong about Austin coming into this season. I didn’t think he’d become a viable weapon in the offense, but he has absolutely smashed it this season. He had four catches for 65 yards, including a great catch on a 44-yard bomb.

RB Jaylen Warren

Arthur Smith figured out Jaylen Warren is really good, I just wish it didn’t come all the way in Week 16. Warren was explosive all night, totaling 92 yards from scrimmage on 17 touches. More consistent touches for him going forward is a must.

S Minkah Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick had what should have been the complete momentum-changing interception that led to a Steelers win. Instead, we all know what happened shortly after. That said, it was great to see him break a nearly two-year long streak of not having an interception.

Role skill players

Cordarrelle Patterson and MyCole Pruitt got their first touchdowns as Steelers. Van Jefferson made a big catch over the middle in the red zone to set up a touchdown. Ben Skowronek continues to be a reliable tool. They aren’t George Pickens, but these guys who aren’t exactly household names did what was asked of them.

EDGE Alex Highsmith

Highsmith was getting constant and consistent pressure all night. He had a strip sack early in the game and a tackle for loss.

Junior-varsity

QB Russell Wilson

Even though Wilson battled back and threw two touchdowns, he also had two turnovers that were gut punches and cost Pittsburgh a win. His fumble inside the five came on a drive in which the Steelers could have gone up 14-7, and he threw a pick-six that all but ended the game. Two plays that completely changed the outcome.

Secondary

The defense was without DeShon Elliott and Donte Jackson, and Joey Porter left the game with a calf injury. Cory Trice jumped on a short route, which opened up the corner to Rashod Bateman in the end zone that Damontae Kazee couldn’t get to quick enough. Then in the red zone, Kazee got lost which left Mark Andrew open for a touchdown. The Steelers’ depth players didn’t give much to be hopeful for if they need to be put in that spot again.

Run defense

The Steelers got hit in the mouth, and Cam Heyward alluded to it after the game when he said if you don’t stop the run, you can’t control the game. Derrick Henry did whatever he wanted on the ground all day, with six carries of 10 or more yards. The defense has been rough over the last two weeks, which isn’t a very good omen for what is to come in the final two weeks and into the playoffs.

Pre Function Edition

Week 16: Sunday Morning Tailgating Open Thread

Give us your thoughts about the NFL and your day so far, prior to the games beginning.

Takeaways, overreactions, and random musings from the Steelers’ second straight loss. 

The Steelers are now on a two-game skid following a 34-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. As always, there are plenty of takeaways to be had.

1. Russell Wilson tried to do too much

For a moment in the first half, it looked like the 36-year-old Russell Wilson had turned back the clock. He was throwing all over the field and extending plays. The Steelers had all the momentum on their side.

Then, on his best scramble of the game, Wilson rushed 19 yards and decided to power towards the goal line instead of sliding in the second quarter. One big Ar’Darius Washington hit later, and the ball popped out. The Ravens drove 96 yards in the other direction, taking a 14-7 lead.

It was a one-off mistake in a promising first half for Wilson. He led a successful two-minute drive not long after to score a field goal ahead of halftime.

But Wilson had two more back-breaking mistakes in the second half. The first was an underthrown fourth-and-six deep shot that went incomplete to Calvin Austin III — who was never that open in the first place. Why risk such a low-percentage throw with just six yards to the sticks?

Then came the play that just about sealed the game for Baltimore: A Wilson pass that was woefully behind MyCole Pruitt, resulting in a Marlon Humphrey pick six that put the Ravens up by two scores in the fourth quarter.

All three plays, to varying degrees, came down to Wilson trying to do too much, forcing plays that weren’t really there. You have to love the competitive spirit, but it didn’t work out in his favor. While there’s plenty more to point fingers at in the Steelers’ Saturday performance, those moments were the difference between Pittsburgh having a real shot at winning, and losing by 17.

Wilson had a bad game. He’s allowed to have one every now and then, even if a potentially division-clinching matchup wasn’t the best time to do so. If there’s a silver lining, it showed just how much Wilson’s play can steer Pittsburgh. We saw what happened when he’s not playing well, sure, but in his best moments on Saturday we saw the opposite.

There’s a reason why the narrative following this game isn’t that the Steelers missed George Pickens (even if they did): When Wilson is hot, the offense can move the ball well, even without its WR1. At his best, Wilson can carry this Steelers team. That’s an encouraging sign, even if he fell short against Baltimore.

2. Getting healthy is the key to postseason success

After a loss, I do my best to avoid making this column sound like a list of postgame excuses. Why did the Steelers lose? Because the Ravens outplayed them. That’s not lost on me.

But it’s hard to take criticism of the Steelers’ secondary seriously when they were without both starting corners and an excellent strong safety in DeShon Elliott for nearly all of the game.

Damontae Kazee had some big hits on Saturday but he’s simply not anywhere close to the presence Elliott is against the run or in coverage. On the boundary, the Steelers had Cory Trice Jr., fresh off of injured reserve and with two just NFL games under his belt, and James Pierre, a depth piece who is largely a special teamer at this point in his career. It’s hardly a shock that coverage was rough against the Ravens.

Add in a clearly not 100% T.J. Watt, no Larry Ogunjobi on a defensive line that needed all hands on deck, and no Pickens on offense, and the Steelers’ struggles aren’t that surprising.

Now, two things can be true here. Every NFL team has injuries and the Steelers are far from the only team with this level of attrition. In fact, Pittsburgh’s inability to succeed with just a few key players missing is one of the main reasons why they’re clearly a tier or two below the NFL’s top contenders — just look at the Lions, with 19, NINETEEN, players on injured reserve, still at 12-2. The Steelers can’t be let off the hook completely.

But the flip side is also true. With all or most of Watt, Elliott, Pickens, Ogunjobi, Joey Porter Jr., and Donte Jackson healthy — maybe even Troy Fautanu returns for the playoffs — the Steelers are a much different roster that can keep up with any non-Buffalo team in the AFC.

The Steelers reaching that status isn’t as huge of a leap as you might think. Again, despite a laundry list of key injuries against Baltimore, Pittsburgh was a few better Russell Wilson plays away from making a game of it.

With just four days of rest between the Steelers’ Saturday loss and a Christmas Day game against the 14-1 Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh’s chances of retaining the AFC North lead look slimmer than ever. Of course, securing that playoff home game remains the top priority, and it should. But the real indicator of playoff chances will be the Steelers’ injury report ahead of Wild Card weekend.

I understand the frustrations of the “Steelers on their way to another first round exit” crowd, but look at the wild momentum swings of the last several Pittsburgh seasons — a lot can still change over the next few games, both good and bad. Health will play the biggest factor.

Right now, it’s bad. Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen the Steelers get pummeled by playoff-bound teams in the second half of games. In its current state, Pittsburgh simply doesn’t have the depth or the talent to last a full 60 minutes of postseason football. That has to change ahead of January 11, but there’s a good chance it will.

3. The Steelers run defense disappoints

If there’s been one fairly constant positive throughout what’s been a late-season regression for the Pittsburgh defense, it’s that the Steeler run defense has been excellent. Even in last week’s loss to the Eagles, the Steelers only allowed 65 yards from NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley.

Teryl Austin’s unit has its flaws, but generally, when the Pittsburgh defense sells out to stop something this season, they get the job done.

Against Baltimore, that plan fell apart early and often. Pittsburgh did everything it could to stymie the Ravens’ ground game, utilizing plenty of 3-4 base and even some 4-3 packages — extremely rare for the Steelers defense — in an effort to stuff Baltimore at the line of scrimmage.

Credit where it’s due: Lamar Jackson had just 22 rushing yards. The Steelers haven’t completely lost their touch. But Derrick Henry? He had 24 rushes for 162 yards, averaging 6.8 per carry.

Unlike the Pittsburgh secondary, that was a failure that can’t be explained away by injuries. The team’s front seven was a bit banged up but largely healthy, and again, they consistently loaded the box. Instead, Henry and the Ravens’ offensive line played bully ball with resounding success.

It’s an outlier; Henry’s rushing explosion might just be the Spiders Georg of the Steelers’ run defense statistics this year. But the point still stands: For the second straight week, Pittsburgh’s opponent was able to slowly salt away most of the fourth quarter to seal the game.

The Steelers entered the 2024 season with the end goal of being the more physical team in every game they played: O-line investments, heavy packages with lots of tight ends, and a highly-paid defense with stars at every level. It sounds great on paper, but there’s clearly an offseason or two of development still needed for the Steelers to reach that goal.

4. Odds and ends

• A decent amount of the Steelers’ success this season can be attributed to the ball bouncing their way. This game, it definitely didn’t. The Ravens had three fumbles/muffs and recovered each one.
• Alex Highsmith was cooking Ronnie Stanley for most of the game. A really nice day for No. 56.
• Ben Skowronek had two nice catches for 25 yards, while Calvin Austin III had one of the best games of his career, recording 65 yards including a gorgeous, spinning sideline grab on a deep pass. The Steelers receiving corps aren’t completely bereft of talent without Pickens.

• The Steelers decided to feature Jaylen Warren as the primary running back against Baltimore, and it looked like the right decision. Warren’s burst, in not just the run game but also as a dump-off option, was a needed spark for the offense. Najee Harris also showed his value with 4.7 yards per carry, but more Warren early in the game was a good adjustment by the Steelers. However, Warren’s ball security issues reared their head with a nearly-lost fumble. That’s one of the biggest obstacles for him becoming a true lead back in the future.
• Pittsburgh featured some power runs and a few play-action passes that actually resulted in positive plays. There were glimmers of an improved offense on Saturday.
• Miscommunications continue to be an issue in the secondary. They’re likely a symptom of all the new faces, but it’s still inexcusable in professional football. The same can be said of tackling.
• You have to love the effort from Miles Killebrew here:

• Coaching wasn’t perfect against Baltimore but it was far from a problem. That being said, Mike Tomlin’s fourth down decisions were once again puzzling. He went for a midfield fourth-and-six down just one score early in the fourth quarter, but punted down two scores twice later in the game — including a fourth-and-12 at the 50 yard line. The reasoning there just doesn’t make sense.
• Can we stop with the Cordarrelle Patterson complaints now? He might get a few too many carries per game, but not many running backs in the NFL are making the catch below. I’ll continue to defend him as a good signing.

• It was nice to see Minkah Fitzpatrick finally break his turnover drought. The ball was thrown right to him, but it was still an important play for the veteran safety; I’m sure the lack of interceptions was bothering him just as much as it was bothering Steelers fans.

The Steelers don’t have long to recover from Saturday’s loss. Up next is a chance to break their two-game losing streak on Christmas Day against the Chiefs.

What are your takeaways from Steelers vs. Ravens? Agree/disagree with the ones above?Join our Behind The Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!

The Steelers’ QB had a fumble and interception.

On multiple occasions in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 16 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, it looked as if they could swing momentum heavily in their favor. The first came after the Steelers held Baltimore to a punt and had the chance to take the lead in the first half. Russell Wilson had a long scramble that saw him dive toward the end zone, but he fumbled and it was recovered by the Ravens. Down seven late in the game, Minkah Fitzpatrick had an interception that stalled a Ravens drive that looked like it was bound to end in a touchdown. Two plays later, Wilson threw a pick-six to Marlon Humphrey.

Wilson didn’t run from his mistakes, though, while speaking to the media afterwards.

“Yeah, just thought I had a chance to get in the end zone [on the scramble],” Wilson said. “I tried to cut back and just got hit and right before I hit the ground, the ball came out. It’s unacceptable, it can’t happen.”

Wilson added that he thought the Steelers responded well with a pair of touchdowns to even the score at 17, but that the late interception really hurt their chances of winning. He once again reiterated that the fumble and interception were plays that “I can’t let happen.”

The Steelers now have a quick turnaround as they’ll gear up to host the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas as they try to avoid a third straight loss.