Tim Benz stories, Page 25

The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 7-4 by virtue of their 16-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive is still trying to figure out how that is possible given their frequent inability to score points. Despite the fact that the offense got...

It’s not often that an NFL team scores 16 points, and the franchise’s fan base celebrates an offensive explosion. But when that team has a 400-yard day for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic was still in full swing, it’s party time. Such was the case for the Pittsburgh...

Since so many Steelers fans have been so desperate to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada, I thought there would be more happiness about his dismissal. Instead, at least in my inbox and social media interactions, I’ve gotten much more: “They shoulda fired Mike Tomlin, too! They should move on from...

Wednesday’s “First Call” gives us some odds to track when it comes to replacing Matt Canada as the Steelers offensive coordinator. We also get another inside linebacker candidate for the team and take a look at Sunday’s officiating crew in Cincinnati. Plus, there’s a preview of the Duquesne and Pitt...

At Mike Tomlin’s weekly news conference Tuesday, the Steelers coach received a lot of questions about Matt Canada’s firing that essentially amounted to: “Why now?” Why — after 21⁄2 years of evidence that suggested Canada shouldn’t be an offensive coordinator in the NFL — did Tomlin finally terminate Canada’s role...

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ five-game winning streak was abruptly halted by a dud of a performance last Thursday. They lost 5-2 at home to the New Jersey Devils. “In any area, we weren’t really good, to be honest,” captain Sidney Crosby admitted after the defeat. “We didn’t execute well… They were...

In Tuesday’s “First Call,” Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson pipes up on social media. Ben Roethlisberger wonders what the Steelers offense was doing. Weekly honors were awarded for players and coaches at Pitt and Duquesne. The Baltimore Ravens may have room for optimism on the injury front. And Robert Morris...

The 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers are a team chock-full of contradictions. • The entire premise of the offense is to seek victory by way of securing the football, avoiding turnovers and minimizing mistakes. But the offense is so conservative it can’t maintain possession and rarely threatens to score. • After a...

Monday’s “First Call” has news of a former Steeler likely coming back to play in Pittsburgh. A Cleveland Brown mistreats the Terrible Towel. A Penguins goalie is backing the Browns. The Steelers are already underdogs in Cincinnati. And the Duquesne Dukes know their opponent for Round 1 of the FCS...

Based on what he saw this weekend from the Steelers and Penguins, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X wants to see a shake-up. At both quarterback and goaltender. In the wake of their 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns Sunday, let’s start with the Steelers first. Madden says...

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a football game in Cleveland on Sunday, 13-10. The offense only scored on two possessions and punted nine times. The Browns were starting a rookie backup quarterback. Star running back Nick Chubb and the starting offensive tackles didn’t play. Coordinator Matt Canada’s offense essentially had one...

The biggest reason for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ success over the past two weeks has been an uptick in the run game. Through the first seven games of the season, the Steelers averaged 79.7 rushing yards per game and averaged 3.4 yards per carry. In their most recent outings — victories...

In this week’s “Football Footnotes,” former quarterback Kordell Stewart has some advice for Kenny Pickett — and the entire Steelers franchise. There’s some potentially severe injury news coming out of Thursday night’s AFC North battle between the Bengals and Ravens. Plus, we look at the local college scene as the...

Friday’s “First Call” finds a confident backup quarterback ready to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cleveland. Both teams have important injuries from earlier in the season they are nursing in advance of Sunday’s rematch. The Penguins are facing a very challenging weekend set of games. And we lay out the...

Some people think I’m being too hard on Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Others think the media, collectively, is being too hard on wide receiver George Pickens. Still, others take sports writing a little too … hmmm … literally. These are all things we learn in this week’s “U mad,...

The Pittsburgh Steelers may not have to worry about this impacting them, but there’s a potential stopgap solution to the quarterback problem in Cleveland. We also examine Thursday night’s primetime AFC North matchup, share an honor for Franco Harris and look at Gerrit Cole’s Cy Young Award. All that in...

Wednesday’s “First Call” features a little trash talk from Pittsburgh Steelers veteran Patrick Peterson after his blocked kick on Sunday. We get an update on Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin shares his thoughts on the rise of the “Pastronaut” (Josh Dobbs) in Minnesota. Also, a...

Understandably, everyone in Green Bay is still mad at Sunday’s NFL officials in the Steelers-Packers game. They didn’t overturn an incomplete forward pass from Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett that was reviewed as a potential turnover. As discovered by SteelersDepot.com, Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon appeared on the USA Today Network’s “Clubhouse...

During his weekly appearance on WDVE, NFL rules analyst Gene Steratore (Uniontown/Washington, Pa.) weighed in on two controversial calls from Sunday’s Steelers-Packers game. One play went in favor of the Steelers that perhaps should have been overturned. The other, he believes, was a good call that significantly helped the Packers’...

For all the hyperbole and hysteria over how the Pittsburgh Steelers have performed this year, a funny thing has happened on the way to the second half of the schedule. The Steelers are precisely where they should be. In fact, they’ve even bought themselves a little cushion. Yes, folks, at...

Like many people who follow the Pittsburgh Steelers, 105.9 The X radio host and TribLIVE columnist Mark Madden is struggling to figure out how the club has gotten itself to 6-3 on the season. After Sunday’s 23-19 win over the Green Bay Packers, Madden is resigned to bemusement at the...

In Monday’s “First Call,” we look ahead to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ upcoming visit to Cleveland. We get into how some NFL returns could impact the Steelers. And Josh Dobbs flashes his skills in Minnesota. Looking ahead Despite being 6-3 and winning four of their last five, the Steelers (6-3) are...

I’m not sure how many more weeks the Pittsburgh Steelers can survive on the last defensive possession as the opposing quarterback throws the ball to the goal line with the game in the balance. But they sure seem to be making a habit of it. The Steelers never win pretty....

It’s not like the Pittsburgh Penguins’ California sweep this week erased everything that went wrong for the club on their recent four-game homestand. But it’s at least a little hockey whiteout. The Pens headed west, after having dropped three of four games at home in frustrating fashion. They were losers...

Here’s one thing we know about the AFC North heading into Sunday’s schedule for sure. It won’t be another perfect week for the division. After all four teams won last week, that can’t happen again this Sunday because two of the clubs — the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns —...