Steelers/NFL category, Page 356
Down went the ‘bell cow,’ so in came the (Benny) Snell cow to close out Steelers win
Last week, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin referred to James Conner as “our bell cow.” Monday, they turned to their Snell cow. Benny Snell Jr. had 19 carries for a career-high 113 rushing yards in helping the Steelers to a 26-16 season-opening victory at the New York Giants. “(Snell) was...
Mark Madden: After James Conner’s latest injury, time has come for Benny Snell football
James Conner is a great story. Pitt guy. Cancer survivor. We’ve heard the narrative umpteen times, and it is indeed inspirational. Conner even wrote a book. But the Steelers must move on from Conner as their No. 1 running back. Conner left Monday’s game at the New York Giants in...
Steelers lose offensive linemen Zach Banner, Stefen Wisniewski in season-opening victory
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Already minus their All-Pro right guard, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost his replacement and their new starting right tackle on consecutive plays in the second half of their 26-16 season-opening win Monday night against the New York Giants. Central Catholic grad Stefen Wisniewski, starting in place of...
Roethlisberger throws 3 TD passes in return, but Conner, O-line suffer injuries in Steelers’ win over Giants
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ben Roethlisberger overcame a long layoff and some early rust to get the Pittsburgh Steelers off to a good start Monday night in their season opener. Playing for the first time in 365 days because of right elbow surgery, the 38-year-old quarterback threw three touchdown passes...
Steelers notebook: Team remains unified during pregame activities
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Keeping a promise to remain unified during the playing of the national anthem Monday night against the New York Giants, all Pittsburgh Steelers players stood for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” but nobody from the visiting team was on the field for the Black anthem...
LB Ulysees Gilbert, RB Anthony McFarland inactive for Steelers in season opener
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — For the season opener against the New York Giants, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be have a special teams player and a converted safety as the only players available as the backups at inside linebacker. Ulysees Gilbert III, a second-year linebacker who was expected to compete for...
Steelers’ helmets to have Antwon Rose’s name on them throughout season
Helmets worn this season by the Pittsburgh Steelers will bear the name of Antwon Rose II. Rose was 17 when he died after being shot by an East Pittsburgh police officer in June 2018. The officer, Michael Rosfeld, stopped a Chevy Cruze matching the description of a vehicle reportedly involved...
Madden Monday: Steelers opener; Penguins ‘in organic decline,’ see themselves ‘as what they were, not how they are’
The first game of the 2020 Steelers season is Monday night against the New York Giants. So Mark Madden and I start this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast with a heavy dose of football. But the Penguins conversation is intriguing as well. Those that follow the team are trying to figure...
Tim Benz: If Steelers don’t slow Saquon Barkley, Giants could pull off upset
If the Steelers are to win their season opener Monday night against the New York Giants, they are going to have to stop superstar running back Saquon Barkley. Check that. The Steelers are going to have to slow superstar running back Saquon Barkley. Stopping Barkley doesn’t happen very often. Just...
After offseason of ‘twists and turns,’ Steelers focus on Giants, Monday Night opener
That the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing their first game during the second week of September in a high-profile time slot is about the only thing that lends a semblance of normalcy to the 2020 opener. For the fourth time in six years, the Steelers open in prime time. The 7:10...
Tribune-Review NFL predictions: Steelers’ T.J. Watt to win Defensive Player of Year
The Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes looked like they were ready to defend their Super Bowl title in the season opener Thursday. Can they become the first team in nearly two decades to repeat as champions? No NFC team has reached the conference title game in consecutive years...
Veteran guard David DeCastro ruled out of Steelers’ opener against Giants
The ironman on the right side of the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line won’t be on the field for the season opener Monday night at the New York Giants. All-Pro guard David DeCastro was ruled out of the opener when he did not participate in practice Saturday morning. DeCastro has not...
Steelers plan to approach national anthem ‘as one unit’ before season opener with Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers players plan to take the field as a group for the national anthem Monday night when they open the 2020 season against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Cornerback Steve Nelson indicated to reporters Saturday that the Steelers won’t follow the lead of the Houston Texans, who...
Chance to add to Super Bowl collection inspires Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger in return from injury
The youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl is now 38 and chasing an elusive third ring. It has been 11 seasons since Ben Roethlisberger’s pinpoint touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds remaining provided the Pittsburgh Steelers with their sixth Lombardi Trophy and the quarterback’s second title in...
Four Downs: Steelers proficient at forcing fumbles but can’t again depend on recovering them
1. Fumble Foibles The Pittsburgh Steelers led the NFL in takeaways last season, and it in no small part contributed to their 8-8 record and ability to remain in the playoff race through their season finale. But can that be replicated? The law of regression to the mean suggests it...
2017 draft class was a winner for Steelers, but time together might be running out
They grow up so fast. It wasn’t long ago players such as JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner and T.J. Watt were seen as the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, it appears two of them are mere months from becoming part of the organization’s past. That’s not assured, of course, but...
Steelers have dominated Monday Night Football, especially under Mike Tomlin
Only four teams have appeared more often than the Pittsburgh Steelers on the NFL’s iconic flagship scheduling window, “Monday Night Football.” If the Steelers beat the New York Giants on Monday, no team will have more victories on “MNF.” A victory in the Week 1 Monday opener at MetLife Stadium...
Diontae Johnson returns to Steelers practice, likely to play in opener
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson returned to Pittsburgh Steelers practice Friday, signaling it is highly likely he will be able to play in Monday night’s season opener against the New York Giants. Johnson was listed as a full practice participant on the official injury report a day after he did not...
4 years after memorable college meeting, James Conner, Saquon Barkley face off in NFL
The only time they were on the same field together for a meaningful game, James Conner and Saquon Barkley combined for 276 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns. Two of the best running backs in the respective histories of Pennsylvania’s two biggest college football programs, Conner and Barkley meet again...
Mark Madden: To reach experts’ expectation, Steelers must win 1st 2 games, sweep Ravens
In Pittsburgh, sports fans and the attendant media aren’t brilliant at much. But overrating and overestimating have proven to be specialties. The Penguins had a “great” pre-playoffs camp, whatever that means. They were “flying out there,” especially Evgeni Malkin. That provided pretext for a long playoff run. Actual evidence like...
Fantasy sports podcast: Game 1 paying off some hype. Renewed faith in Steelers’ James Conner?
If Game 1 of the NFL season is any indication, a lot of offseason fantasy league hype about certain skill position players is about to come true quickly. The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans, 34-20, in the Thursday night league opener. Rookie running back...
Breaking down the 2020 Steelers: The special teams
Here is a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 special teams: (Italics denotes player is on the practice squad) Starters: Chris Boswell, Dustin Colquitt, Kameron Canaday Others: Corliss Waitman Breakdown: For the first time since 2014, the Steelers enter a regular season with someone other than Jordan Berry as their...
Giants could offer Week 1 problems for Steelers’ reconfigured offensive line
If the Steelers are searching to find a litmus test for their revamped offensive line, they could do worse than starting the season against the New York Giants. In 2019, only two NFL teams — the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins — allowed more points per game than the Giants...
Ex-Steeler Ryan Clark delivers heartfelt Black Lives Matter message ahead of NFL seasonVideo
“When we’re tired, we take a knee, and we’re as tired as we’ve ever been,” says former Steelers safety Ryan Clark on the state of Black America during this tumultuous year of social injustice. Clark, speaking on behalf of Black athletes in a heartfelt video montage, sent the message via...
Minkah Fitzpatrick much more comfortable in 2020 Steelers debut than last year’s
You wouldn’t have known it by looking at the stat line, but Minkah Fitzpatrick says now that his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers was a frenzied “learning on the fly.” Fifty weeks later, the first game of Fitzpatrick’s second season with the team doesn’t have near the same feel. “This...
