pittsburgh steelers Archives - Page 4 of 13

December 16, 2019December 16, 2019

Steelers Fall to the Bills After Committing Overabundance of Turnovers

PITTSBURGH (GSM) — The last game of the 2019 NFL season at Heinz Field is an “L”.

The Steelers lost to the Buffalo Bills Sunday in a game that could have solidified their spot in the postseason. Final score 17-10. Quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges completed 23 for 28 passes and one touchdown.

The statistic that stand out the most however, is that he gave up the ball 4-times by way of interceptions. Hodges had this to say about his performance, “It’s disappointing right now obviously. You hate to lose, but I think after the first loss, how you respond is going to define who I am. Hodges said. “I mean, yeah, I’m disappointed right now, but in a couple days I’m still going to be who I am. I’m still going to be confident, still going to know that I can get the job done.”

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin when asked about his team’s performance, gave more credit to how the Bills executed in all three phases also saying his men will learn from this matchup.

“They are a rough and tumble outfit. We have to tip our caps to those guys and congratulate them, not only on winning the game, but not blinking and making the significant plays in the significant moments. That is something that we pride ourselves in. We didn’t make those plays today.” – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin on the Buffalo Bills

Running back James Conner saw action after returning from a shoulder injury that left him sidelined since week 11. In his eyes, the determining factor to the loss was a result of poor, “…execution and making routine plays.” Conner, rushed for 8 for 42 yards and scored the Steelers’ only touchdown on a reception from Hodges. Despite the score Conner said, “We couldn’t get into a good rhythm where we could be marching up the field and putting up points.”

On a lack-luster showing when attempting to stop Buffalo’s rushing attack, defensive end Cam Heyward — who is usually a dominating force — said about the inability to thwart the Bills’ offensive attack,”Too many times our tackling was very poor in this game. You can’t just bottom down we have to fully wrap and rally,” Heyward said. “They kept the ball moving, got chunk plays and then they hit us for that critical touchdown at the end.”

The Steelers (8-6) will play their last two games of the regular season on the road, starting with the New York Jets (5-9) who are coming off of a loss to the Baltimore Ravens 42-21.

BRIAN COOK IS AN EMMY-NOMINATED INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST WHO HAS BEEN COVERING THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE SINCE 2005. HE CAN BE REACHED AT BCOOK@GOLDENSKYMEDIA.COM.

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December 13, 2019December 14, 2019

EDITORIAL: Steelers’ Diontae Johnson Improves in All Aspects of His Game

Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019. (Clyde Harris, Jr. / Golden Sky Media)

PITTSBURGH (GSM) — The Steelers’ training room is filled with the bodies of the fallen. One of those fallen is Dionte Johnson who was injured with a concussion in the Browns game in Cleveland on Nov 14. He has since recovered and provided a much needed spark to the Steelers offense!

Johnson caught 6 passes for 60 yards plus a touchdown and electrified the crowd with an 83-yard punt return. He scored both of Pittsburgh’s touchdowns, in the 23-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals! The NFL announced Dionte Johnson as the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week as a result of his outstanding performance.

Dionte’s performance heralds a very bright future!

December 7, 2019December 7, 2019

Antonio Brown Apologizes, Posts Workout Video

Former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown scores a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers on November 26, 2017 at Heinz Field. (Brian Cook / Golden Sky Media)

(GSM) — Free agent all-pro wide receiver Antonio Brown posted a video showing him donning Steelers colors — complete with his former helmet — working out and catching passes.

As he currently looks for another chance to play for an NFL team, he continues to take his talents to social media, hoping scouts will afford him that opportunity.

Also this week, he posted (what appeared to be) a heartfelt apology to those he has offended. Brown said he, “…worked hard over the years to earn a chance to compete in the greatest game on earth.”

View this post on Instagram

First and foremost, I’d like to apologize to my family, friends and anyone who I offended. I never once meant to make anyone feel like I wasn’t thankful and appreciative of the opportunity that I was afforded to play the game I love. I’ve worked hard over the years to earn a chance to compete in the greatest game on earth. Over the years I was met with challenges and I can honestly say I didn’t handle those challenges in the manner that I should have. Over the past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to think about everything that’s transpired and I am deeply sorry to all who I’ve offended. While my behavior was inexcusable, sometimes when people are coming at you with false information and allegations, we handle ourselves in ways that we sometimes regret. I do take full responsibility for my actions and I’m working everyday to repair what I broke. I do know that if I’m ever given the opportunity to play the game that I love, I’m going to work extremely hard to show the world how much I appreciate another chance. To the organizations that I offended, I offer my sincere apology to you and my hope is that you forgive me and help me move on from this minor setback. I look forward to competing and helping a team reach their goals.

A post shared by Boomin (@ab) on Dec 6, 2019 at 10:54am PST

BRIAN COOK IS AN EMMY-NOMINATED INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST WHO HAS BEEN COVERING THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE SINCE 2005. HE CAN BE REACHED AT BCOOK@GOLDENSKYMEDIA.COM.

FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER

December 2, 2019December 4, 2019

Steelers Stay Alive in Playoff Hunt with Win Over the Browns

PITTSBURGH (GSM) — The Steelers control their own destiny!

The Pittsburgh Steelers are sitting with a record 7-5 and have — at the moment — solidified their spot in the 2nd place in the AFC North division after defeating the Cleveland Browns 20-13 at Heinz field, Sunday. With a litany of injuries to starters on both sides of the ball, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin realizes his team was faced with an uphill battle and after the victory simply said no matter what, you have to get it done. “It feels good to win always, but it definitely feels good to win when you are faced with adversity in terms of people available to you,” Tomlin said. “There’s just less margin for error. Not that we feel like we are incapable, we just realize we have to play closer to optimum level.”

Tomlin made the necessary adjustments before the second half based on what he observed throughout the game.

“We felt like we needed to minimize their run in the second half more than we did in the first half and we needed to run it better than we did in the first half. We felt like it was 10-10 at the half, but they had won the line of scrimmage. They had more significant run plays, they had control of the time of possession. We needed to flip that.” — Mike Tomlin, Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Cornerback Joe Haden sealed the win for Pittsburgh with an interception against Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield and took to the postgame podium with a smile on his face knowing that, despite his individual play of 2 tackles and 1 INT, it was a good team win. “We just have a group of guys with Terrell [Edmunds], Steve Nelson and then the addition of Minkah [Fitzpatrick]. This is one of the best secondaries I have ever been a part of because we have communication, we have guys that are very football smart and are very capable of making plays.” Haden said “I feel like I am holding my side down, but everybody else is doing their thing in the back end.”

Running back Benny Snell Jr. rushed for 63 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. He said the win was dedicated to center Maurkice Pouncey who was suspended for the game due to the unfortunate on field altercation the last time the Steelers and Browns met where a fight broke out and Pouncey came to the defense of his teammates. “Him [Pouncey] not being out there with us, we wanted to get this win for him. That’s why we got the game ball for him as well. I’m happy and I’m proud!”

For the second consecutive game QB Duck Hodges connected with wideout James Washington for a score. This time for 30 yards splitting two defenders for the touchdown. Washington says coach Tomlin’s motivation is what plays in his mind constantly. “Coach [Tomlin] would always say, ‘You never know how many opportunities you’re gonna get.’ What better game not to going out there and do that?!”

The Steelers head to Arizona to face the Cardinals who are 3-8 and in last place in the NFC West.

BRIAN COOK IS AN EMMY-NOMINATED INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST WHO HAS BEEN COVERING THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE SINCE 2005. HE CAN BE REACHED AT BCOOK@GOLDENSKYMEDIA.COM.

FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER

November 26, 2019November 26, 2019

The “Duck” Will Lead the Flock Against the Browns

Pittsburgh Steelers undrafted quarterback Devlin Hodges puts on his helmet moments before going into the game against the Ravens, following a vicious hit which left starter Mason Rudolph unconscious. He went 7-9 for 68 yards on October 6, 2019 at Heinz Field. (Brian Cook / Golden Sky Media Company)

PITTSBURGH (GSM) — It’s official! Devlin “Duck” Hodges will be the starting at quarterback this week. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made the official announcement during his weekly press conference Tuesday.

“We met as a staff, we’ve decided that we’re going to start Duck this week.” Tomlin said. “I’m hopeful that he’s capable of continuing to provide that spark as we step into this stadium.” Tomlin echoed his statement following the (16-10) win against Cincinnati where Mason Rudolph was benched in the second half. Following the game, Tomlin said, “Mason wasn’t doing enough.” At that point, it is suspected that the decision was already made to start Hodges in the following game.

When Hodges saw action so far this season, he completed 67.5% of his passes for 318 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The last time he started a game was week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers — on the road — and came away with a 24-17 win.

The undrafted QB, out of Samford University, found a solid place on the active roster during week 1 of the 2019 NFL season after the season ending injury to Ben Roethlisberger.

BRIAN COOK IS AN EMMY-NOMINATED INTERNATIONAL JOURNALIST WHO HAS BEEN COVERING THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE SINCE 2005. HE CAN BE REACHED AT BCOOK@GOLDENSKYMEDIA.COM.