Browsing: Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly all-in on building a playoff contender around Aaron Rodgers in the two weeks leading up to the Nov. 4 trade deadline.

The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo reported Wednesday that there is “a feeling inside the Steelers building that they want to do everything in their power to give Rodgers a legitimate chance to make a run this year.”

That could start with the search for a wide receiver, a position at which DeFabo reported the Steelers “will be making calls” ahead of the deadline.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport similarly reported last Saturday that the Steelers are “in the market for a receiver.”

“Their offense has thrived by featuring multiple tight ends, but the addition of a speed threat to pair with DK Metcalf would help Aaron Rodgers and the offense,” Rapoport wrote.

Metcalf leads the Steelers with 22 catches, 406 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns through the team’s 4-2 start to the 2025 season.

The next two most prolific receivers for Pittsburgh have been tight end Pat Freiermuth and running back Jaylen Warren, both of whom have received more targets since Calvin Austin III was sidelined with a shoulder injury in Week 4.

Even given the success of Warren in leading the Steelers’ run game, the contributions of Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington at tight end and the possibility that Austin could return in time to take on the Green Bay Packers in Sunday’s Week 8 matchup, the franchise might want another weapon to take advantage of having a quarterback with a passer rating of 105.0 so far this season.

One potential target for the Steelers, particularly if the team decides to prioritize speed, could be Las Vegas Raiders wideout Jakobi Meyers.

Meyers requested a trade in August and reaffirmed Tuesday that he still wants to be traded, per ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, although the likelihood he gets moved before the deadline could hinge on whether the Raiders (2-5) commit to selling.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday that Las Vegas is “one of the teams giving mixed signals on whether they would actually execute a deal, which complicates the market.”

Meyers has also been dealing with knee and toe injuries that sidelined him for the Raiders’ Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday.

The Steelers could still face a bidding war should they decide to pursue Meyers. Given that the wideout is coming off an 1,000 receiving-yard campaign with a 2024 Raiders team lacking a consistent starting quarterback, he will still likely be subject to interest from multiple teams should Las Vegas decide to shop him ahead of the deadline.

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It was a night of veteran quarterbacks going vintage, as Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers combined for 591 yards and seven touchdowns in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 33-31 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Flacco threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, completing 31-of-47 passes. He connected with Ja’Marr Chase for a touchdown, with Chase totaling 161 yards, while Tee Higgins added a score on 96 yards and Noah Fant also found the end zone. Chase Brown rushed for 108 yards on the night.

Rodgers battled, finishing with 249 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions, completing 23-of-34 passes. He connected with Pat Freiermuth for two touchdowns covering 111 yards and threw a touchdown to Jonnu Smith. DK Metcalf added 50 receiving yards on three catches.

With the home win, the Bengals improved to 3-4 on the season, snapping a four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Steelers dropped to 4-2, suffering their first loss in three games.

Fans praised the two veterans for putting on a show in an epic match on Thursday night.Â

The Steelers struck first in the opening quarter, with Rodgers connecting with Smith for a touchdown on their opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.

Cincinnati lit up the second quarter, scoring on all three possessions and forcing turnovers on two of Pittsburgh’s drives, limiting the Steelers to just a field goal.Â

Rodgers threw two interceptions, while Flacco connected with Chase and Higgins and added a field goal, giving the Bengals a 17-10 lead at halftime.

The Bengals controlled the clock after the break, adding a field goal, and Rodgers responded with a touchdown pass to Freiermuth to cut the deficit to three heading into the fourth quarter.Â

Flacco connected with Fant early in the fourth for a touchdown, but Rodgers answered with a score to Washington to keep the game within three. A field goal by Cincinnati later extended their lead to 30-24.

A 68-yard pass to Freiermuth with 2:21 left gave the Steelers a late 31-30 lead. However, with time on the clock and a deep connection from Flacco to Higgins set up the Bengals in field-goal range and Evan McPherson drilled the game-winning kick.

Rodgers and the Steelers will face his former team, the Green Bay Packers, at home next Sunday, Oct. 26, while Flacco and the Bengals host the New York Jets on the same day.

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The Cincinnati Bengals’ offense is showing signs of life under quarterback Joe Flacco, and with that, it may be near impossible to trade for wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in fantasy football and rather difficult to acquire his teammate, Tee Higgins, as well.

The Bengals added the 40-year-old via trade from the Cleveland Browns after Jake Browning encountered struggles in place of superstar Joe Burrow, who is reportedly out until at least December with a Grade 3 turf toe injury.

Flacco made his first start last Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. The Bengals were shut out in the first half before Flacco led a furious finish, guiding Cincinnati to 18 second-half points in a 27-18 defeat.

Cincinnati kept up the pace on Thursday evening against the Pittsburgh Steelers, defeating the AFC North champions 33-31.

Of note, Chase and Higgins have formed an impressive rapport in a short amount of time with Flacco.

Chase caught 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown on a whopping 23 targets. Higgins snagged six passes for 96 yards and another score. He could have crossed 100 yards and scored a second time after catching a long pass late in the fourth quarter with his team down 31-30.

However, Higgins made a shrewd move, sliding down at the Steeler seven-yard line to kill some time before Evan McPherson kicked a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left for the win.

Chase had a great game the week before against the Packers, catching 10 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets. Higgins had a solid game as well with five receptions for 62 yards on eight targets.

â–¶ï¸ Full Bengals-Packers Recap

In short, Chase looks like the player who was picked as the No. 1 consensus option on fantasy football rankings, per FantasyPros.

He had an uneven start to the season. In Week 2, Chase caught 14 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 1 and Weeks 3-4, Chase had 12 receptions, 99 yards and no touchdowns combined.

However, it appears he’s now back to providing elite production on a regular basis. With that, Chase is virtually untouchable at this point. The window to potentially “buy low” on adding Chase when he had a tough stretch from Weeks 1-4 is officially closed. He’s a top-three wide receiver at this point alongside Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams and Amon-Ra St. Brown of the Detroit Lions.

Like Chase, Higgins had a mostly rough start to the year, outside Week 2, when he caught three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. In Week 1 and Weeks 3-4, Higgins caught seven passes for 80 yards and no scores.

Higgins is the WR2 in this offense and doesn’t see as many targets as Chase. Of note, he hasn’t been targeted more than eight times in a game all season.

However, Higgins has clearly fared better of late with Flacco. In Eric Karabell of ESPN’s latest end-of-season rankings, Higgins ranked 32nd among wide receivers. FantasyPros’ aggregate rankings have Higgins at 34th. He could easily be top 30 after the end of this week’s games if not creeping toward the mid-20s.

Ultimately, Higgins is clearly a WR3/flex option and perhaps not far off from being considered a WR2 in fantasy if the Bengals’ offense stays hot, and that should be kept in mind when considering trades.

Higgins was the 13th-ranked wideout in FantasyPros’ aggregate rankings before the season, after all, and his production of late indicates a potential strong end to 2025.

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This is DK Metcalf’s first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it didn’t take him long to poke fun at an AFC North rival.

“I don’t want to get into divisional rivalries or anything of that nature. But I mean, it was fun kicking the Browns’ ass on Sunday,” the wide receiver said Tuesday following Sunday’s 23-9 victory over the Cleveland Browns, per Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

That was Pittsburgh’s first divisional game of the year, although it won’t have to wait long for its next one with a Thursday matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals looming.

The Steelers largely cruised in the 14-point win and never trailed a single time. Metcalf posted four catches for 95 yards and a touchdown as the offensive leader, but it was Pittsburgh’s defense that set the tone.

Cleveland never found the end zone while averaging 3.8 yards per rush and attempting 52 passes with Dillon Gabriel. The rookie completed 29 of those throws for 221 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions and was also sacked six times.

It was an ugly showing for the 1-5 Browns and more of the same in this rivalry. Pittsburgh is 41-11-1 in head-to-head matchups against Cleveland since the 2000 season and has now won two in a row after a rare two-game losing streak in the rivalry.

As for Metcalf, he has 19 catches for 356 yards and four touchdowns through five games for the 4-1 Steelers and has demonstrated clear rapport with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He will continue to endear himself to Steelers fans with so many touchdown catches, especially if they come in victories.

But taking shots at rivals is also going to make him even more of a fan favorite.

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The Tennessee Titans need a new head coach after they announced Monday they fired Brian Callahan, and they reportedly have their eyes on two potential candidates.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith are “a couple names to watch” in the early stages of the process.

That Tennessee would be looking at offensive coaches comes as no surprise.

After all, it selected Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft. His ability to live up to expectations and become a franchise quarterback will go a long way toward determining how successful the Titans are in the immediate future, so they will want to hire a coach who could help maximize his ability.

Yet Nagy and Smith don’t exactly have long track records of success as head coaches.

Nagy went 12-4 as the Coach of the Year in his first season with the Chicago Bears in 2018 but then went 22-27 during the next three seasons. His play-calling was consistently questioned during those last three years, which was notable since he was hired as an offensive coach.

As for Smith, he went 21-30 during his three seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2021 through 2023. His offense finished 26th in the league scoring in two of those three seasons and 15th in the other, which raised concerns since he was an offensive coach.

This is also Smith’s second season as the offensive coordinator for the Steelers, and the AFC North team was 23rd in yards last year and sits in 29th in the early going this year.

Smith is at least a familiar name for the Titans, as he was their offensive coordinator for two seasons in 2019 and 2020. That is also when he found the most success, as the offense finished in the top 10 in the league in scoring in each of those two years.

Tennessee is sure to conduct a wide-ranging search and could very well wait until the season ends and more candidates emerge. But Smith and Nagy are early names to watch as the AFC South team searches for the coach to pair with Ward.

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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was among the masses who were caught off-guard by the Cleveland Browns sending veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals in a rare in-division trade last week.

“It was shocking to me,” Tomlin said Monday, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “[Browns general manager] Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a quarterback that you think enough of to be a day 1 starter to a divisional opponent.”

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about Tomlin’s criticism of the Flacco trade on Monday, and he told reporters, “I don’t have a comment on that.”

Cleveland had benched Flacco and inserted rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel as the starter in Week 5. Rather than holding onto the aging vet, the Browns traded him to the Bengals, who were struggling at the quarterback position after losing star signal-caller Joe Burrow to toe surgery.

The Steelers easily handled the Flacco-less Browns with a 23-9 win on Sunday. Gabriel completed 29 of his 52 passes for 221 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while being sacked six times.

Rather than facing Flacco with Cleveland on Sunday, Pittsburgh will meet its old nemesis when it faces Cincinnati on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 7. In his Bengals debut, Flacco threw for 219 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on 29-of-45 passing in Sunday’s 27-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Steelers will be seeking their fourth straight win on Thursday, so it can be expected that Tomlin will have his players amped up to take on Flacco and the Bengals as they try to continue to establish supremacy in the AFC North.

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Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was promoted to backup quarterback this week, but getting playing time on Sunday apparently wasn’t an option without an injury.

Despite struggles from fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, head coach Kevin Stefanski said “he never pondered” putting Sanders in the game, according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.

Last week, the Browns traded veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, confirming Gabriel’s role as starter and moving Sanders from No. 3 to No. 2 on the depth chart.

Gabriel did little to impress in his second start, throwing for 221 yards on 29-of-52 passing with no touchdowns. That followed a performance against the Minnesota Vikings in which he recorded 190 yards and two touchdowns.

Though he has yet to see any action this season, Sanders has remained somewhat optimistic with the recent changes.

“I’m in a great mental space overall,” Sanders told reporters last week. “So I would say you tend to get a little bit more excited when you see a light at the end of the tunnel, for sure… Whatever my role is here, I’m thankful. I’m happy just to do that.”

Considering he started the season No. 4 on the Browns’ depth chart and is now in a backup role, it’s fair to say Sanders is in a better place now than he was a month ago.

But taking over as Cleveland’s starter will likely be a bigger task than earning QB2 honors. Though Gabriel struggled on Sunday, the fact that Stefanski didn’t consider putting in Sanders indicates that he plans on being patient with Gabriel as he figures things out.

The Browns are 1-5 and seem like a long shot to make the playoffs, so the remainder of the 2025 season might be dedicated to developing Gabriel rather than experimenting with Sanders under center.

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III had to be taken to a Dublin-area hospital after suffering a shoulder injury during Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after his team’s 24-21 win that Austin was being evaluated at a hospital.

Per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Austin was loaded into an ambulance with his arm in a sling after leaving the game in the fourth quarter.

The injury occurred when Austin was tackled by Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy after an eight-yard reception. He finished with two catches for 13 yards.

Austin’s injury left an already-thin Steelers receiving corps scrambling. DK Metcalf made up for the lack of depth with his best game of the season, finishing with 126 yards and a touchdown on five catches.

Pittsburgh’s depth chart behind Metcalf and Austin includes Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek. The two leading receivers after Metcalf on Sunday were running back Kenneth Gainwell (35 yards) and tight end Darnell Washington (20 yards).

Entering Week 4, the Steelers’ leading receiver was running back Jaylen Warren with 142 yards. Metcalf and Austin were the only other pass-catchers on the team with at least 100 yards.

Austin is in his fourth NFL season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. He missed his entire rookie campaign due to a foot injury and played limited snaps in 2023.

Last season saw Austin become more of a focal point in the offense. He racked up 548 yards and four touchdowns on 36 catches in 17 games (eight starts).

Austin was averaging a career-high 15.8 yards per reception through the first three weeks of this season.

If Austin’s injury requires him to miss any time, the Steelers would likely turn to Miller and Skowronek as a short-term option as their No. 2 receiver. They could also explore free agency or the trade market for depth.

The Steelers do have time to figure out their situation since they are on a bye in Week 5 before returning to play the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 12.

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is still not a fan of his new helmet options following the NFL’s decision to ban his previous go-to model.

“Hate it. Hate it, hate it,” Rodgers said Wednesday about his helmet, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.

Rodgers’ former helmet, the Schutt Air XP Pro Q11 LTD, was one of seven helmets newly banned by NFL ahead of the 2025 season. According to the NFL, the helmet did not meet league standards in lab testing meant to simulate concussive impacts.

“I mean I wore this one last year, had no concussions, some arbitrary ruling,” Rodgers said about the Schutt Air XP Pro Q11 LTD, per Pryor. “It makes obsolete now. Silly. I should have pushed it more, petitioned to wear it again one more time.”

Rodgers added, “It looks terrible.”

Rodgers originally tried the Schutt F7 Pro helmet this offseason, but said after June minicamp that he “can’t stand” the model.

He then began practicing in the Schutt Air XP Po VTD II, which NBC Sports’ Mike Florio previously described as “one of the few remaining helmets with a smooth, flat shell” that hasn’t yet been banned by the NFL.

Rodgers told reporters in August he didn’t like the Schutt Air XP Po VTD II, either, even after fitting the helmet with a custom facemask.

“Looks like a damn spaceship out there. We’ve got to change it,” Rodgers said in August about the Air XP Pro VTD II. “The facemask doesn’t fit the helmet, because it’s an old facemask, obviously, because I’m old. But we’re trying to find the right helmet right now.”

It seems Rodgers and the Steelers have still been unable to find that right helmet three games into the 2025 season.

The veteran quarterback will look to overcome his helmet discomfort while focusing on the Steelers’ upcoming trip to Dublin for a Week 4 international matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. Sunday’s kickoff is set for 9:30 a.m. ET.

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Drake Maye and the New England Patriots fell to Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-14, on Saturday at home after a turnover-filled offensive performance.

Maye struggled throughout the night, completing 28-of-37 passes for 268 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and a lost fumble, while taking five sacks. Both of Maye’s touchdown passes went to tight end Hunter Henry, who finished with eight catches for 90 yards.

Turnovers proved costly, as three different Patriots coughed up the ball in the loss. Maye turned it over twice, Rhamondre Stevenson lost two fumbles and Antonio Gibson added another in what was a sloppy outing for New England, which dropped to 1-2 on the season.

The Steelers, meanwhile, improved to 2-1 behind Rodgers, who had an uneven performance but did enough to secure the win. Rodgers completed 16-of-23 passes for 139 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, connecting with DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III for the scores.

Maye and the offense were called out by NFL fans after struggling to protect the football, committing five turnovers in a shaky performance.

New England opened the game with a fumble, followed by an interception in the second quarter. Despite the early miscues, the Patriots trailed just 14-7 at halftime.

Things didn’t improve after the break. The Patriots fumbled on both of their third-quarter possessions, but the defense held strong, somehow keeping the Steelers off the scoreboard.

New England tied the game at 14 early in the fourth quarter, but the turnover woes continued. With 7:41 left, quarterback Maye scrambled on a broken play, only to be sacked and stripped for the team’s fifth turnover of the night.

This time, the Patriots were not so lucky, the Steelers charged down the field and Rodgers connected with Calvin Austin III for a touchdown to a 21-14 advantage with just over two minutes remaining.Â

The Steelers came up big with a fourth-and-one stop to seal the win — a play on which DeMario Douglas initially had a chance but ran backward, losing ground — as the turnovers ultimately proved too costly for New England.

The Patriots will face the Carolina Panthers at home next Sunday.Â

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