Joe Rutter stories, Page 105
Evasive Kyler Murray will provide test for Steelers pass rushers
For all of his elusiveness and ability to make plays moving around in the pocket, Arizona Cardinals rookie Kyler Murray has been sacked more than any other NFL quarterback. Murray, the No. 1 overall draft pick, has been sacked 41 times this season. Waiting in the wings Sunday are the...
With Stephon Tuitt out, Javon Hargrave ‘answering the bell’ for Steelers defenseVideo
When Stephon Tuitt was lost to a season-ending pectoral injury in Week 6, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said replacing the hulking defensive end would require a collaborative effort. That message apparently didn’t get through to Javon Hargrave. It wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say Hargrave singlehandedly has stepped up...
Steelers QB Devlin Hodges taking ‘Duck-mania’ in stride
Duckmania is in full flight, and the instigator of this cultural phenomenon is well aware of the impact he is making with Steelers Nation. Fans are wearing duck hats and costumes to home games. A petition is circulating to bring the giant, yellow rubber duck back to the three rivers....
Super Bowl apparel getting most interest in Rocky Bleier memorabilia up for auction
Since putting nearly 70 of his prized possessions up for auction in early November, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rocky Bleier has been curious to see how much the items would fetch. He won’t have to wait much longer. The “Rocky Bleier Collection,” which is part of Leland auction house’s...
Broncos make waiver claim for Steelers center Patrick Morris
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost center Patrick Morris on a waiver claim to the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, according to the NFL transactions report. In Denver, he will be reunited with Mike Munchak, the veteran offensive line coach who held the same position with the Steelers until this season. Morris was...
If James Conner returns, where does Benny Snell fit with Steelers?
After two games as the Pittsburgh Steelers feature running back, rookie Benny Snell Jr. is within 111 yards of James Conner for the team rushing lead. With 161 yards combined in victories against the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, Snell has increased his season total to 279 yards. Conner has...
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin says ‘Duck’ Hodges to start against CardinalsVideo
Coach Mike Tomlin will have Devlin “Duck” Hodges ready to take flight when the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Arizona for the first of three road games they will play in the final quartile of the NFL season. Hodges will make his third career NFL start, and second on the road,...
Breaking down Steelers’ 4 remaining opponents as playoff push continues
The good news for the Pittsburgh Steelers is they remain in the No. 6 playoff position as the NFL schedule hits the home stretch. The bad news is that three of the remaining four games are on the road, where they have a 2-3 record this season. The Steelers travel...
With a little help, 9 wins could get Steelers into postseason
Nine wins weren’t enough to get the Pittsburgh Steelers into the playoffs last year, ending a run of four consecutive trips to the postseason. Nine wins, however, could do the trick this year provided the Steelers get some help from teams playing the Tennessee Titans. By winning for the sixth...
Deep passing game highlights 5 things learned from Steelers’ win over Browns
Five things we learned from Steelers 20, Browns 13: 1. Deep thoughts Starting with a 31-yard pass to James Washington on a free play, Devlin Hodges began taking more chances throwing downfield on the Steelers’ third series. Hodges finished with 212 yards passing on 14 completions, an average of 15...
Determined Steelers keep cool, deliver knockout blow to Browns
Nobody swung a helmet in a fit of rage. No punches were thrown in retaliation. The fighting that took place 17 days earlier in Cleveland didn’t resurface. The Pittsburgh Steelers kept their cool Sunday in the rematch with the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field. That worked to their advantage even...
Browns QB Baker Mayfield injures hand late in first half against Steelers
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield returned to Sunday’s game in the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers after leaving late in the first half with an injury to his right (throwing) hand. Mayfield exited with 0:07 left after he hit his hand on Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree’s helmet. Mayfield headed...
Decades of scars worn by both sides as Steelers-Browns rivalry boils with playoff implications
When sports columnist Bud Shaw arrived in Cleveland in 1991, a colleague told him how captivated the city would get when the Browns were regular playoff contenders. The Browns were only a few years removed from making seven playoff appearances in a 10-year span, including three trips to the AFC...
Steelers’ Trey Edmunds fined for block against Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Trey Edmunds was fined $28,075 for unnecessary roughness as the result of a blindside block on a kickoff return in the second quarter last Sunday at Cincinnati. Edmunds was fined for the block on a kickoff return by Kerrith Whyte. The Bengals’ Nick Vigil also was...
Benny Snell providing ‘real spark’ to Steelers running game
Mike Tomlin used the word “spark” three times in his postgame interview Sunday to describe what backup quarterback Devlin Hodges brought to the Pittsburgh Steelers offense against the Cincinnati Bengals. Two days later, at his weekly news conference, Tomlin dropped six more references to the “spark” that Hodges provided as...
Steelers LB Mark Barron honored by NFLPA for turkey drive in Alabama hometown
Mark Barron made Thanksgiving a little more memorable for residents of his Alabama hometown when 1,500 turkeys were distributed to families last Saturday. The Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker’s only regret was he couldn’t be there in person to take in the moment. The turkey drive in Prichard, Ala., coincided with...
JuJu Smith-Schuster misses another practice for Steelers with knee injury
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster sat out another practice Thursday, his fifth in a row for the Pittsburgh Steelers since injuring his knee and sustaining a concussion Nov. 14 at Cleveland. With the Steelers having just one more day of practice before the rematch against the Browns on Sunday at Heinz...
Steelers’ Cameron Heyward keeps making progress with play, charitable work
Since he established his charitable foundation in 2015, Cameron Heyward has set a modest goal, one that also could serve as his motto on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Each year,” he said, “we’ve challenged ourselves to do a little more.” Heyward hopes incremental success — individually as a...
T.J. Watt among 5 Steelers players atop Pro Bowl positional balloting
Five Pittsburgh Steelers players lead their respective positions in Pro Bowl balloting that was released Wednesday afternoon. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt is the leading vote-getter among all Steelers players, collecting 118,517 votes. Also leading in voting on defense for the Steelers are rookie inside linebacker Devin Bush (70,171 votes), defensive...
Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva limited in practice for Steelers with shoulder injury
The Pittsburgh Steelers began their practice week for the AFC North rematch against the Cleveland Browns with left tackle Alejandro Villanueva only being involved on a limited basis with a shoulder injury. Villanueva was not listed among the injured players Tuesday when coach Mike Tomlin conducted his weekly press conference....
Mike Tomlin doesn’t expect tensions to rekindle between Steelers, Browns
Considering the way the Pittsburgh Steelers’ previous game against the Cleveland Browns ended — with Myles Garrett swinging Mason Rudolph’s helmet at the quarterback’s unprotected head — it’s reasonable for the NFL to take preventive measures to ensure tempers don’t flare Sunday when the teams meet again at Heinz Field....
Mike Tomlin unsure of status for Steelers’ James Conner, JuJu Smith-Schuster
For a team beset by injuries for most of the season, it was a positive for the Pittsburgh Steelers that they came out of their game Sunday in Cincinnati without adding to their already expansive total. Coach Mike Tomlin said that aside from normal “bumps and bruises,” the Steelers did...
Former Steelers Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, Alan Faneca named Hall of Fame semifinalists
Three former members of the Pittsburgh Steelers are among the 25 semifinalists of Modern-Era candidates for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Wide receiver Hines Ward, guard Alan Faneca and safety Troy Polamalu were among the candidates who made the cut from 122 nominees to the 25 semifinalists,...
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says Devlin Hodges will start against BrownsVideo
Duck season will resume Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers get their rematch with the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field. How long it remains open depends on the aim of Devlin Hodges. “We’ll see where we are after this game,” coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday of his decision to start Hodges...
Myles Garrett absence will bring different feel to Steelers’ rematch with Browns
The NFL made sure two of the three main participants in the fight near the end of the first meeting between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns wouldn’t play in the rematch Sunday at Heinz Field. Mason Rudolph perhaps took the third participant out of the equation with his play...

