Joe Rutter stories, Page 66

A week after saying his offense lacked physicality, Mike Tomlin witnessed the Pittsburgh Steelers’ toughness being surpassed in virtually every facet of play against the Buffalo Bills. At his weekly news conference Tuesday, Tomlin admitted his team’s defense and special teams were pushed around in a 26-15 loss, the second...

Faced with a shortage of available bodies on the offensive line, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed guard Danny Isidora from the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad Tuesday. Isidora will be added to the 53-man roster once he passes covid-19 protocols, which typically take five days. That means Isidora could be available...

Mike Tomlin was impressed with the way wide receiver Diontae Johnson handled his benching in the first half of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 26-15 loss at Buffalo on Sunday night. After dropping passes on the Steelers’ first two possessions, Johnson didn’t see the field again until the second half. Johnson leads...

Five things we learned from Bills 26, Steelers 15: 1. Out of gas? The Steelers are starting to resemble that used car that runs like a champ when it is driven off the lot, holds up for a while under basic wear and tear but by the end of the...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The only bit of good news to come out of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ trip to western New York on Sunday was they clinched a playoff berth for the first time in three years before they took the field against the Buffalo Bills. What transpired during the...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are playoff-bound. For the first time since 2017, the Steelers clinched a berth in the NFL postseason. Before it even took the field Sunday night, the team learned it would be part of the playoff field. With Miami’s loss to Kansas City, the Steelers clinched a spot...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have added reinforcements at inside linebacker for their game Sunday night at the Buffalo Bills. With only two healthy players available at the position, the Steelers activated Ulysees Gilbert from injured reserve and promoted Tegray Scales from the practice squad Saturday. Avery Williamson, acquired in a trade...

A starting cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers will miss a game for the second week in a row. Despite getting Steve Nelson back from a knee injury that kept him from playing Monday, the Steelers will be without Joe Haden on Sunday night when they play at the Buffalo Bills....

With inside linebackers falling like dominoes, Avery Williamson has gone from part-time backup to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most experienced starter at his position in a matter of days. “It’s crazy how the last week has spiraled,” Williamson said Friday. A knee injury to Robert Spillane in the third quarter Monday...

After the Pittsburgh Steelers absorbed their first loss of the season Monday, they had a chance to flick the channel to ESPN and get a preview of what awaits them this weekend in Buffalo. What defensive captain Cameron Heyward saw looked familiar. There was Bills quarterback Josh Allen moving around...

The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers ventured into Buffalo, Le’Veon Bell set the franchise single-game rushing record with 236 yards on a snowy December day at Bills Stadium. When the Steelers return to western New York on Sunday night for the first time since that 2016 game, they will be...

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have their starting running back available Sunday when they play the Buffalo Bills in a pivotal AFC matchup. James Conner was activated from the reserve/covid-19 list Wednesday after missing games against Baltimore and Washington. He leads the Steelers with 645 yards rushing in 10 games. Center...

Dropped passes can be a subjective metric to calculate in the NFL. What one stat-tracking website views as a drop could be considered an uncatchable pass by other services. ESPN Stats and Info, for instance, calculates the Pittsburgh Steelers with an NFL-high 31 drops this season, 10 more than any...

Having some time to reflect on his team’s 23-17 loss to Washington a day earlier, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin came to one conclusion. “I live by the coaching creed, ‘If you can’t get a yard, you don’t deserve to win,’” Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. The...

Five things we learned from Washington Football Team 23, Steelers 17: 1. Short stops Be it issues with the play calls or the execution of what is sent in over the headset, the Steelers were beset by failures in short-yardage situations, and those mistakes correlated to the first defeat of...

An undefeated season no longer is in the cards, and a playoff berth will have to wait another week for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Armed with a 14-point lead in the first half, the Steelers came unglued in the second, and any chance of matching the 1972 Dolphins was vanquished with...

Cornerback Steve Nelson is among six players the Pittsburgh Steelers placed on the inactive list Monday for their game against Washington. Nelson will miss just the second game in his two seasons with the Steelers. He had an MRI taken on his knee last week and did not practice in...

Matthew Wright will make an unlikely NFL debut Monday night for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Signed to the practice squad just a week ago, Wright was promoted to the active roster Monday, meaning he will replace an injured Chris Boswell as the Steelers’ placekicker against Washington. Boswell was added to the...

What the Pittsburgh Steelers hope to accomplish Monday doesn’t carry the historical significance of, say, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. It won’t go into the sports pantheon of memorable milestones alongside UCLA’s 88 consecutive wins, Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games played or the Boston Celtics’ run of eight NBA championships...

For the second time this season, Ben Roethlisberger has missed a full week of practice. This time, he is listed as questionable to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday against Washington. Roethlisberger was an observer at practice Saturday with what the team has categorized as a knee injury. Coach...

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have another starter eligible to play Monday against Washington. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt was activated Saturday from the reserve/covid-19 list. Tuitt was placed on the list Nov. 27, and he missed the Steelers’ 19-14 victory against the Baltimore Ravens. Tuitt is having his best NFL season....

He is not even a dozen games into his pro career, and Alex Highsmith has been given the unenviable task of replacing half of the NFL’s best pass-rushing duo for the rest of the season. The next-man up concept Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin preaches will be tested again with...

On the first official practice in a short week of preparation for the Pittsburgh Steelers, cornerback Steve Nelson was not a participant, which could foreshadow his absence Monday against Washington. Nelson was not listed by coach Mike Tomlin on the injury report he gave after the Steelers’ 19-14 win Wednesday...