Joe Rutter stories, Page 14

With the Pittsburgh Steelers trying to snap a three-game losing streak that has dropped them out of playoff positioning and into last place in the AFC North, coach Mike Tomlin is switching quarterbacks. Barring an early return by Kenny Pickett from ankle surgery, Mason Rudolph is in line to start...

Five things we learned from Colts 30, Steelers 13: 1. Slim Pickens Coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged that second-year receiver George Pickens’ demonstrative frustrations with his role in the offense were becoming an issue because they were not “solution-oriented.” Tomlin told the team website in a story published Saturday morning that...

INDIANAPOLIS — For 16 minutes Saturday, it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers might race to a win that would soften the ills created by consecutive losses to two-win teams. For the remainder of the game, they remained stuck in neutral on offense and defense while watching the Indianapolis Colts run...

The offensive coordinator and play-caller have changed. So has the quarterback. A few things remain the same, however, for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they are deficiencies that Mitch Trubisky wants to correct Saturday in Indianapolis. “Slow start,” Trubisky said. “I have to be better on third downs. Got to execute...

It’s too early to determine whether outside linebacker Alex Highsmith will be available to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis. T.J. Watt, though, appears to be good to go after being cleared Wednesday night by an independent neurological consultant. He no longer is in concussion protocol....

Almost a week after challenging the work ethic of his teammates following a loss to New England, Minkah Fitzpatrick said it is too soon to determine whether his message has been received. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ All-Pro free safety indicated after the 21-18 loss — the team’s second to a two-win...

A record 66 quarterbacks started at least one NFL game last season, an average of more than two per team. Mason Rudolph was not one of them. Through 14 weeks this year, 55 quarterbacks have made at least one start. Again, Rudolph is not among that group. Rudolph won’t start...

As historic as the back-to-back losses to two-win teams were for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it wasn’t devastating to their chances of making the AFC playoffs. In fact, it had little impact. Despite becoming the first team in NFL history with a winning record to lose consecutive games to teams at...

Mike Tomlin believes the Pittsburgh Steelers took the necessary steps to ensure that All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt didn’t return to their game last Thursday night with concussion symptoms. Watt was placed in concussion protocol on Saturday, two days after he played 52 of a possible 57 defensive snaps in...

It already has been established that the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off the worst two losses in the Mike Tomlin era. No other team in NFL history with a winning record has lost back-to-back games to opponents at least eight games under .500, so how can it be viewed as...

Two days after their 21-18 loss to the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers have placed outside linebacker T.J. Watt in concussion protocol. Watt reported symptoms when he came to the team facility Friday for meetings and film study, Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said Saturday. The NFL Network also reported...

It was only three seasons ago that the Pittsburgh Steelers, off to a franchise-best 11-0 start, lost four of their final five regular-season games. That slide set the tone for their one-and-done playoff appearance, a 48-37 home defeat to the Cleveland Browns. On the other side of the country, the...

Five things we learned from Patriots 21, Steelers 18: 1. Rundown feeling New England entered the game with the NFL’s third-ranked run defense, so it wasn’t like the Steelers didn’t know they might have a difficult time running the ball. Falling into an 18-point deficit in the first half also...

Just when it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t set the bar any lower in terms of humiliating home defeats, they found a way to limbo under it Thursday night. Fresh off an upset loss to two-win Arizona four days earlier, the Steelers also were no match for the two-win...

Four starters who were listed as questionable for the Pittsburgh Steelers are active for the game Thursday night against the New England Patriots at Acrisure Stadium. Running back Najee Harris (knee), left guard Isaac Seumalo (shoulder), inside linebacker Elandon Roberts (groin) and center Mason Cole (neck) will play against the...

Another game, another opponent with a 2-10 record coming into Acrisure Stadium to play the Pittsburgh Steelers. This time, it’s the New England Patriots paying a visit Thursday night. No longer resembling a team that made the AFC championship game an annual destination when Tom Brady was employed in New...

Subbing for a quarterback who recently underwent “tightrope” surgery, Mitch Trubisky also is walking a fine line these days. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ backup-turned-starter in the wake of Kenny Pickett’s high ankle sprain, Trubisky must navigate between being aggressive in trying to score points for one of the NFL’s least productive...

Mike Tomlin already has ruled out Kenny Pickett from playing Thursday night against New England, and he is preparing to press on without the player he calls the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback on defense. On Monday, Tomlin said inside linebacker Elandon Roberts is “definitively” questionable to play when the Steelers take...

Mitch Trubisky had a modest accomplishment Sunday when he threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson with less than five minutes left in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. It was Trubisky’s second scoring toss of the season, the other coming in his previous relief appearance...

In the wake of Kenny Pickett undergoing surgery Monday to repair a high ankle sprain, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley to the practice squad. McSorley, a sixth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2019, was on the New England Patriots’ roster in the preseason....

Five things we learned from Cardinals 24, Steelers 10: 1. Worst of the worst? In his 17 years as coach, Mike Tomlin’s resume includes some late-season stinkers to teams with losing records. Just three years ago, the Steelers lost a 27-17 decision in December to Ryan Finley and the 2-10-1...

Here’s the kind of gloomy day it was Sunday for the Pittsburgh Steelers: Through 55 minutes of football, the Steelers encountered just one fewer weather delay than they had points on the Acrisure Stadium JumboTron. In one of the worst showings in Mike Tomlin’s 17 seasons, the Steelers lost a...

With high winds and lightning hitting the North Shore, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against the Arizona Cardinals at Acrisure Stadium was delayed twice Sunday afternoon. The first came at halftime. Play also was stopped with 7 minutes, 18 seconds left in the third quarter. Heavy rain fell briefly late in...

The Pittsburgh Steelers had just one of their long-term injured players back on the field Sunday when they play the Arizona Cardinals. While free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick played after missing four games with a hamstring injury, the Steelers de-activated nose tackle Montravius Adams with an ankle injury. It was the...