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First Call: JuJu irked Bills pregame; Bill Cowher on Jets rumors; Chris Archer back to Tampa? | TribLIVE.com
Pirates/MLB

First Call: JuJu irked Bills pregame; Bill Cowher on Jets rumors; Chris Archer back to Tampa?

Tim Benz
Tim Benz
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AP
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher walks on the field at Heinz Field before a game on Sept. 30, 2019.

Monday’s “First Call” gives us Bill Cowher’s take on those New York Jets coaching rumors. We look at the struggles of the Bengals as the Steelers get set for their matchup in Cincinnati next week. The Steelers need a better effort out of the New Orleans Saints versus the Chiefs than they got on Sunday. And Chris Archer may be heading back to Florida.

Plus, JuJu Smith-Schuster apparently angered the Buffalo Bills before Sunday night’s game started.

Dance the night away?

During their Sunday night loss in Buffalo, NBC showed footage of Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster dancing on the Bills midfield logo during pre-game warmups.

Apparently, some Buffalo players saw it happen in real time before kickoff. And it didn’t sit well.

Based on Smith-Schuster’s comments about the route tree this week, he was probably just excited that he got to run 13 yards on a football field before a ball was thrown. No wonder he was dancing.

Maybe save the dancing for after the game in Cincinnati next week, JuJu? It doesn’t look so cute when you are on a two-game losing streak and can’t break the 20-point barrier.

No-can-do from Cowher

Last Monday, Bill Cowher’s name was floated as a candidate to coach the New York Jets next season.

The reason this latest iteration of “Cowher back to the sideline” rumors seemed to have legs is that Boomer Esiason started the speculation on WFAN radio. Esiason is Cowher’s colleague on CBS’ “The NFL Today.”

But the former Steelers bench boss deflected the rumor in a conversation with Rich Cimini of ESPN.com Sunday.

“I have no interest in coaching,” Cowher said. “I have too much respect for the coaching profession to talk about a job that isn’t open … From that perspective, any job that is open, I have no interest in coaching.”

Cowher has been linked to both the Jets and New York Giants jobs in the past. The Cleveland Browns, too.

However, nothing has come of any of those discussions.

Dalton’s day

Not much has gone right for the 4-9 Dallas Cowboys. That’s where the 2-10-1 Cincinnati Bengals come in.

The Cowboys had lost six of seven before a 30-7 victory Sunday in Cincinnati. The Bengals have now lost six straight and have just 31 points in three full games since rookie quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending knee injury against Washington.

The Dallas win had to be especially sweet for Andy Dalton. The Cowboys starting quarterback was 16 of 23 for 185 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

Dalton spent his first nine years with the Bengals before being released in April.

Hopefully, for Steelers fans, the Bengals’ woes will continue next week. The Steelers visit Paul Brown Stadium Monday night.

A little help?

With the Steelers’ 26-15 loss to Buffalo Sunday night, the team should probably worry more about holding off the Bills for the second spot in the AFC than tracking down the Kansas City Chiefs for the top spot.

After all, the Chiefs got a win over Miami on Sunday to improve to 12-1. Mecole Hardman helped with a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown.

But if the New Orleans Saints can beat K.C. in a potential Super Bowl preview this weekend, that would bring the Steelers back into the mix for the No. 1 seed and the bye.

Unfortunately, based on the way New Orleans (10-3) played in Philadelphia yesterday, don’t hold your breath. The Eagles (4-8-1) upset the Saints 24-21 Sunday. And the game wasn’t even that close. Philly was up 17-0 at halftime, and New Orleans scored a cosmetic touchdown late.

Former Penn State star Miles Sanders was a big part of the victory. The Woodland Hills product had a pair of touchdowns, including an 82-yarder.

Former Steeler Javon Hargrave helped, too. He had two sacks and a fumble recovery.

Speaking of former Steelers, it appears Chiefs running back Le’Veon Bell was watching his old club’s loss Sunday night. And he was very much aware of the implications to the AFC standings.

Bell touched the ball four times for a total of 35 yards against the Dolphins.

Back to Tampa Bay?

We know Chris Archer isn’t coming back to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The club declined its $11 million option on him for 2021.

In fact, if the Pirates could go back in time, they’d probably never do the trade with Tampa Bay to acquire him.

After all, Archer’s time in Pittsburgh was a bust. He was injured this past year and was 6-12 with an earned run average of 4.92 during his time as a Pirate.

But now, Tampa is apparently considering going back in time to that trade as well. Because according to the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays are thinking about signing him back to the franchise.

Although, I don’t think Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz are going to be returned to the Pirates as part of the trip in the time machine.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz
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