Joe Rutter stories, Page 30

Five things we learned from Steelers 24, Panthers 16: 1. Looking ahead If Christmas is the time for miracles, then let’s dig into one the Steelers will need to reached the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 7 seed. With three games remaining, the Steelers still sit in the No. 13...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When the third quarter ended Sunday in the Steelers’ 24-16 win at Carolina, the Panthers were facing a fourth-and-27 and preparing to punt near midfield following sacks by Alex Highsmith and Cameron Heyward. When play resumed, the Panthers had a new set of downs at the 24...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When quarterback Mitch Trubisky was benched at halftime of Week 4, it happened after a locker room dustup with wide receiver Diontae Johnson. Making his first start for the Pittsburgh since that game, Trubisky turned to none other than Johnson to be his most trusted receiver Sunday....

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t want this third quarter to resemble so many others they had put on display this season. They didn’t want to have an all-too-familiar three-and-out. Or two. Or a drive that resulted in a field goal. They wanted a touchdown, something they had achieved...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Despite being upgraded to questionable a day earlier, inside linebacker Myles Jack is inactive for the first time this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jack, who leads the Steelers with 100 tackles, will miss the 1 p.m. game against the Carolina Panthers with a groin injury. Jack...

Teryl Austin doesn’t believe in the phrase “Wait till next year.” Not with four games remaining and not with the 5-8 Pittsburgh Steelers mathematically still in the hunt for the final spot in the AFC playoffs. Even if the Steelers are eliminated Sunday when they face the Carolina Panthers at...

On the day the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Carolina for their game against the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium, they downgraded quarterback Kenny Pickett to out because of concussion symptoms. Pickett had been listed as doubtful Friday, but he was ruled out from playing after the team went through...

When he was a rookie in 2019, Diontae Johnson’s first NFL touchdown reception came on a pass thrown to him by Mason Rudolph. It took place in the third week of the year when Rudolph made his first career start for the Pittsburgh Steelers after Ben Roethlisberger sustained a season-ending...

There’s no truth that Mason Rudolph had to reintroduce himself to teammates when he got into the huddle with the first-team offense Wednesday. But it was the first time in weeks, if not months, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fifth-year quarterback took snaps with the starters, so there was an adjustment period....

Chris Wormley’s third season with the Pittsburgh Steelers likely is over as a result of a left knee injury he suffered late in the third quarter Sunday in the 16-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Wormley was seen sporting a brace Monday, and coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday that the...

It will be bittersweet for Mason Rudolph if he is active Sunday for the first time this season when the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. It would mean the fifth-year quarterback would be one step closer to seeing his first game action since the...

Five things we learned from Ravens 16, Steelers 14: 1. One-dimensional offense After having five consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing, the Steelers totaled just 65 on the ground against the Ravens. That is the second-lowest total of the season. The fewest rushing yards came in Week 5...

If the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to avoid their first losing season under coach Mike Tomlin — and keep alive any slim playoff aspirations they might have — they are going to have to run the table. The margin for error is nil as the result of a 16-14 loss...

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without their designated top backup at outside linebacker Sunday when they play the Baltimore Ravens at Acrisure Stadium. Malik Reed was removed from the injury report Saturday, yet he was among five players scratched from the game-day roster. Also inactive were quarterback Mason Rudolph, cornerback...

It doesn’t matter to Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin that his team is preparing to face backup quarterback Tyler Huntley instead of starter Lamar Jackson. Just like it meant little when the Steelers had to face Robert Griffin III, Ryan Mallett or Troy Smith over the years. The Steelers have...

For the first time since October, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have Chris Boswell back as their kicker. Boswell was activated from injured reserve Saturday and will kick for the Steelers when they face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. Boswell hasn’t kicked since Oct. 23 because of a...

In five weeks, an unprecedented run of NFL pass-rushing excellence will end for the Pittsburgh Steelers. For the first time since 2016, the Steelers won’t lead the NFL in sacks. And, barring an unexpected turnaround down the stretch, they also won’t reach the 50-sack plateau for the first time in...

Kenny Pickett doesn’t expect to be so fortunate this Sunday. For the first time in eight NFL starts, Pickett wasn’t sacked when the Steelers defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 19-16, last weekend to win their second consecutive game. Pickett was hit four times but not brought down once in the 28...

Wide receiver Diontae Johnson and outside linebacker T.J. Watt began the practice week for the Pittsburgh Steelers participating on a limited basis. Johnson is dealing with a hip injury, and Watt has been bothered by a rib injury that prevented him from practicing fully last week. Both are expected to...

The last time Tyler Huntley started an NFL game, he faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final week of the 2021 season. Huntley will draw the same opponent but at a different venue when he is expected to replace former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens...

Mike Tomlin doesn’t take issue with George Pickens’ competitive nature. He does wish the rookie wide receiver would express his frustrations in not such a public manner. Pickens was caught by television cameras in the fourth quarter Sunday expressing his displeasure at not being targeted more frequently. He yelled at...

The first Pittsburgh Steelers player from the Super Bowl era to have his number retired is having one of his game-worn jerseys put up for auction. Joe Greene, considered the greatest player in franchise history, will have his No. 75 jersey from the 1975 Super Bowl championship season auctioned off...

It wasn’t a surprise to Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin that Cameron Heyward was announced Tuesday as the team’s choice as the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee. It would have surprised Tomlin if any player other than Heyward had received the honor. Heyward, the team’s 33-year-old defensive...

It took until December for the Pittsburgh Steelers to win a second game in a row. With the Baltimore Ravens looming on the horizon, coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t want his players being satisfied with that modest achievement. “We can’t wear our hands out patting ourselves on the back,” Tomlin said...