Are the Bengals ready for the Steelers?

By Paul Daugherty

https://www.cincinnati.com/sports/bengals/

November 26, 2017

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 22: Le'Veon Bell #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers carries the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half during the game at Heinz Field on October 22, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

After thrashing the Cleveland Browns Sunday, the Bengals return to playing actual National Football League games next Monday night at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And that’s the last cheap Cleveland joke you’re getting today.

The Browns are Homecoming, the Browns are the last kid picked for kickball. They are the closest thing the league has to spring break. The Bengals beat the Browns. Everyone beats the Browns.

The Browns get the same super-sized money-goodies every team gets, for being a member of the richest sports league in the land. They get to whiff on the highest draft picks and play the easiest schedules. And yet they’ve now lost 29 of their last 30 games. It’s a miracle, really.

So when you beat the Browns, you need to find significance in the beating, beyond the beating. For the Bengals, it was having an earth-moving day against a top-10 run defense. This was important on a few levels:

(1) It was getting a little embarrassing being the 32nd-best running team in the NFL. How many 2-yard runs should one fan base have to endure?

(2) It revived the myth, widely shared, that running the ball wins games late in the season. Especially in the AFC North where apparently everyone’s playing on permafrost. This is news to Football/Geography double majors, who could swear that football is also being played outdoors in Green Bay and Foxborough, Mass., shivery places known for great passing teams.

(3) No matter. Whether the weather is brutal or fair, running does matter. On Sunday, Joe Mixon ran 23 times for 114 yards. That’s a 5-yard average against a team previously allowing 3.1 yards a try.

Mixon is shedding his rookie impatience, just in time. This isn’t Oklahoma, and those guys in the other uniforms aren’t the Kansas Jayhawks. You aren’t going to bust every run, so don’t try. “He’s sticking with the runs,’’ guard Clint Boling said. “He’s running north-south.’’ Instead of squirming and dancing laterally and losing two yards, Mixon is cutting his losses and gaining two.

This week, he showed he didn’t need huge holes to make big yards. He just needed holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through. One of those little, die-cast Mack trucks.

Mixon’s 11-yard TD run with 2:54 left removed any suspense from a dull game. Unless you count A.J. Green’s impossible grab in the 3rd quarter. The leaning out of bounds, yet catching the ball inbounds reception was a triumph of gravity defiance, even for him. “Front foot down, drag the back one. Do it every day. Becomes second nature,’’ Green explained. Greatness is making the impossible seem routine.

I asked Green if he’d ever worked on a complementary skill, such as dancing or ballet or being a member of the Wallenda family. “Nah, man,’’ he said. “I don’t do none of that stuff. God given talent. Blessed to have it.’’

The Bengals trailed 0-3 before leading 23-6. The Browns did get it to 23-16 with seven minutes to go. But, well, they are the Browns. Given a chance to shock the world (as bounded by Mentor and Lorain) the Browns then allowed the Bengals a 75-yard drive that was as effortless as a fork through pumpkin pie.

They’re headed into the Pittsburgh Week! bunker now. The Bengals 5-6 record shoudn’t equate to big playoff hope, but in the AFC it does. “We’ve let a lot of games to go,’’ said Giovani Bernard, who emerged from witness protection Sunday to carry three times and catch a 15-yard pass. “We shouldn’t be in the position we’re in. It’s kinda sad to say, but we know how to play from behind.’’

Or, as Marvin Lewis put it, “We don’t get any more do-overs.’’

An 8-8 wildcard team is possible in the AFC. A 9-7 is more likely. That means the Bengals are allowed one more loss to stay in the mix. Problem is, there are no more Clevelands to play. The Bears come closest, but then it’s Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and the Ravens. All January possibles.

Beating the Steelers would make the road a little straighter. It’d also be a win over a good team. That hasn’t happened yet this year. Counting Cleveland twice, the teams the Bengals have beaten owned a combined 12-42 record as of 6 Sunday night.

“It ain’t who you play, it’s how you play,’’ said Chris Smith. “The (Steelers) game isn’t going to be won on (Monday), it’s going to be won during the week. Like coach Paulie (Guenther) says, I like nasty stuff.’’

It will get nasty next Monday. Any resemblance to the game just completed will be coincidental. The Bengals are right. They still have time. Now that the pastry part of the schedule is nearly complete, we’ll see if they’re up to it.

MATT MURRAY'S HEALTH BECOMING A LONG-TERM CONCERN FOR PENGUINS

By: Matt Larkin

http://www.thehockeynews.com/

November 28, 2017



(Gene J. Puskar/AP)

Matt Murray’s injury Monday night was scary enough in a vacuum. No team wants to see its starting goaltender, who knows nothing but Stanley Cup victories through his first two NHL seasons, knocked out of a game with a potentially serious lower-body injury. But what should frighten the Penguins even more is how familiar it is now to see Murray, only 23, getting helped off the ice by teammates.

There’s nothing he could do to avoid getting crashed into by Philadelphia Flyers right winger Jakub Voracek (pictured above). It was a fluke. But that doesn’t change the fact these injuries are becoming a trend in Murray’s short career. There was the April 2016 collision with then-Flyer Brayden Schenn, leaving Murray with a concussion and forcing the Penguins to start the playoffs with Jeff Zatkoff as their starting goalie since Marc-Andre Fleury was also concussed. There was the broken hand sustained in the 2016 World Cup while Murray was competing with Team North America. He lost a couple games last winter to a lower-body injury, too, and then of course came the injury in Game 1 of Pittsburgh’s first-round playoff matchup with Columbus, sustained during pre-game warmup. It cost Murray the first two rounds before he returned to take back the crease from Fleury in the Eastern Conference final and help the Pens repeat as Cup champs.

Including the latest one sustained Monday night, that’s five injuries for Murray in the past 19 months. Three of them are serious, assuming the latest one has a long-term diagnosis, which appears to be the case given how much trouble Murray had leaving the ice. Even if Murray has the world’s worst luck, it doesn’t change the fact these things keep happening to him. He’s been open about his struggles to beef up his 6-foot-4, 178-pound frame, and it’s time to ask whether that lack of body mass has made him brittle. There’s no doubting his talent – he has a .920 regular season save percentage and .928 playoff SP since debuting in 2015-16 – but I wouldn’t fault GM Jim Rutherford for worrying about his star stopper’s future.

Which is why Tristan Jarry has a bigger opportunity in front of him than it may seem. Jarry is no run-of-the-mill backup. He’s long been one of the franchise’s better prospects. He backstopped the Edmonton Oil Kings to the Memorial Cup in 2014 and was outstanding for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2016-17 with a starter’s workload of 45 games, compiling a 2.15 goals-against average and .925 SP. So the Penguins weren’t just blowing smoke post-game when they voiced their confidence in Jarry as a stopgap. He has some legitimate pedigree.

It’s fair to wonder what happens if Jarry goes on a run. Murray has a disappointing .906 SP this season, his first as an unquestioned starter after Fleury got claimed in the expansion draft, and the Penguins have labored to a 13-10-3 record, mediocre by reigning champion standards, clinging to a one-point lead for the final Eastern Conference wildcard spot. What if Murray misses 10 or more games and Jarry helps the Penguins catch fire during that stretch? Might it spark a goaltending controversy? It’s not like the Pens have committed to an enormous contract extension yet paying Murray through his UFA years. He’s playing through a bridge contract right now with a $3.75-million AAV through the 2019-20 season. It’s not “you have to play me no matter what” money.

Penguins fans, of course, shouldn’t panic over this idea. I’m not suggesting Murray shouldn’t be the Penguins starter. I’ve been his biggest supporter during his rise over the past few seasons – ask my colleagues, who regularly make fun of my Murray man crush – but I wonder if his grip on the starting job in Pittsburgh stays air tight if he keeps sustaining these injuries. They’re becoming as regular as Kris Letang’s injuries.

Chances are, Jarry is good enough but not great and/or that Rutherford trades for some temporary veteran help (using disgruntled blueliner Ian Cole?), with Murray returning in relatively short order and locking down the long-term job. But how many more times can Murray get hurt before we have to question his ability to hold-up as a bellcow starting goalie?

'Greatest of all time' Antonio Brown saves Steelers with circus catch

By Kevin Gorman

http://triblive.com/sports/

November 27, 2017

Seventy yards and 17 seconds stood between the Steelers and a score for a last-minute victory over the Green Bay Packers, seemingly not nearly enough time for a game-winning drive.

That was before Ben Roethlisberger lofted a picture-perfect pass along the Steelers sideline, throwing the ball where only Antonio Brown could catch it. What followed was a catch only Antonio Brown could make.

"He's the best in the world on the sideline," Roethlisberger said after the Steelers' 31-28 victory over the Packers on Sunday night at Heinz Field, "so if it's even close, I'm not betting against him."

But you couldn't believe your eyes on this one.

It was that close. So close that Steelers Nation gasped. So close that the officials hesitated to make the call, conferring with each other before signaling a catch. So close that it still went to a video review. So close that even one Steelers receiver couldn't believe what he saw.

"I doubted it for a moment there," said Darrius Heyward-Bey, who stood about 15 yards down the sideline and saw the play from behind. "I thought he was 2 yards out. I saw him drag it, and I know how he plays the game and I was like, 'That front foot was out.' Then I was like, 'Who am I doubting? I'm doubting the best of all time.'

"He's the greatest of all time. I've never seen anything like that. We're accustomed to seeing that, but we've got to understand what we're seeing: This is the best wide receiver we've probably ever seen. That's crazy. I'm in awe every day in practice, in awe every game."

Brown had 10 catches (on 12 targets) for 169 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers. His 39-yarder set up Martavis Bryant's 17-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 in the second quarter. Earlier, he had another spectacular sideline grab at the Green Bay 3 to set up his 1-yard score to tie the game at 21-21 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter, and he added a 33-yarder for a 28-21 lead with 8:42 remaining.

"I'm not surprised at all," Bryant said. "I know what he's capable of. They don't call him 'Tony Toe Tap' for no reason."

But we were all in awe of Antonio Brown on this one, a 23-yard gain that gave the Steelers the ball at Green Bay's 47, a catch that suddenly made everyone believe in the unbelievable.

"That's poetry in motion, but the crazy thing is he does it every day in practice, so it's like you're not really surprised when you see it," said Steelers outside linebacker Arthur Moats, who saw the catch up close. "You're just like, that's A.B. … That's the thing with him: He's going to make those kinds of plays."

Those kinds of play that you had to see again to believe, which is why everyone at Heinz Field turned to watch the replay on the Jumbotron. Roethlisberger asked running back Le'Veon Bell if Brown was in. Bell said he "knew instantly" that it was a catch. So did everyone else, even if they had to pick up their jaws off the field.

Even Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who called it "obviously a ridiculous" catch, said this when asked if he was confident Brown would make the catch: "That will be the story I tell."

But Brown knew he had it, knew he had dragged his feet and knew what the call would be even before the officials did.

"Ben made a great throw, put it only where I could get it on the sideline," Brown said, "and I was just grateful that we could make that catch in the perfect amount of time."

Now, only 15 yards and 47 yards stood between the offense and the end zone, which changed the Steelers' perspective on overtime.

"After that, instead of worrying about us potentially running out of time," Moats said, "we were like, 'We're about to go win this game. Depending on what this next play is, it's going to determine whether we get a touchdown or kick a field goal.' That's instantly where our minds went with it."

Roethlisberger, of course, went right back to Brown, this time for 14 yards to the Green Bay 33. After a dump pass to Bell for a 2-yard loss, Chris Boswell kicked the winning, 53-yard field goal.

The play ended with a kick through the uprights but started with a catch on the sideline that you had to see again and again to believe.

"I guess with all due respect, not surprised or amazed," Roethlisberger said. "It's what he does. He's just special."

They don't call him Tony Toe Tap for nothing.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

MORE STEELERS/NFL

Steelers rally, beat Packers on Chris Boswell's last-second FG 

Steelers' Antonio Brown is a 1-man highlight reel in win over Packers 

The other side: Packers elated over improvements, dejected by loss to Steelers 

Grades for Steelers 31, Packers 28 

Chris Bowell's 'ugly' kick a big boost for Steelers 

Steelers clutch in thriller over Packers, but it shouldn't have been this hard

By Jeremy Fowler

http://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/

November 27, 2017

Chris Boswell is carried off the field after his game-winning 53-yard field goal.(http://www.steelers.com/photos/)

PITTSBURGH -- Just when the Pittsburgh Steelers start to round into contending form, their sloppy play forces you pump the brakes.

With all respect to Antonio Brown's insane footwork, of course.

The gap with the New England Patriots is not exactly closed after the Steelers' sluggish yet brilliant 31-28 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, a performance that required an insane, toe-dragging, 23-yard sideline catch by Brown to set up Chris Boswell's 53-yard, game-winning kick in the final seconds.

The catch with 13 seconds left was so good that Ben Roethlisberger noticed officials were "almost like, 'Did he really do that?'"

"Anything thrown his way is a catch," linebacker Ryan Shazier said.

Coach Mike Tomlin can predict late-season fireworks with the Patriots, but don't expect a solution to Tom Brady when Brett Hundley goes for 118 yards and two scores on his first five third-down attempts against the Steelers' defense. (Still, that wasn't a match for Roethlisberger, who posted his second straight four-touchdown game, along with 351 yards.)

As if the five first-half receiving drops weren't enough, the Steelers' pass defense again had leaky moments without the injured Joe Haden. Since Week 10, opponents have passing touchdowns of 54, 60, 61, 75 and 55 yards. Three of those came on the opening drive of a second half.

The very position the Steelers have tried voraciously to rebuild looks like a weakness at times. Actually, the entire defense looked disjointed as the Packers drove 77 yards on 12 plays for a Jamaal Williams touchdown with 2:02 left.

"We've got to eliminate the explosive plays," defensive end Stephon Tuitt said. "Then we'll be a top-notch defense."

Forcing Green Bay's three-and-out in the final minute helped seal the game, though.

The momentum started to shift the Steelers' way late in the third quarter, with a Cam Hayward sack to take Green Bay out of manageable field goal range and a six-play, 53-yard scoring drive that was all Le'Veon Bell and Brown. That defensive sequence late in the third was huge, with T.J. Watt showing his range on a pass deflection in coverage of Jordy Nelson.

But it took a full three quarters for Hundley to look at least mildly rattled -- the quarterback with two touchdown passes in his first four NFL games in place ofAaron Rodgers. Yet there was Hundley, completing six of his first eight passes for 110 yards and two scores on throws outside the painted numbers,

The stars played like stars.

Bell posted his 38th career game with at least 100 yards from scrimmage, and Brown (169 yards) added his ninth and 10th touchdowns in his past four prime-time games. Each made breathtaking plays with a football playlist of open-field cuts and body contortions. And Martavis Bryant quieted the boos with a 17-yard touchdown.

"The last two series, [Brown] and I were just improvising and making plays," Roethlisberger said. "That's what is so special about him. ... To me, the big story was the passing game. That was Le'Veon [12 catches, 88 yards]. They were trying to take away a lot of passes, and Le'Veon made play after play and bailed me out on checkdowns. As great as AB always is, Le'Veon was extra special today, too."

But the Steelers generally didn't have enough help from the supporting cast in a second straight game in which Roethlisberger was throwing the ball with authority. They missed the sure hands of JuJu Smith-Schuster, who missed action with a hamstring injury.

They converted eight of their first 12 third downs to offset the damage of three turnovers. And when all else fails, throw to Brown. Roethlisberger was 10-of-12 for 169 yards, two scores and 10 first downs when throwing to Brown.

The game never really felt in doubt for Pittsburgh, clearly the better team. But this performance should be more alarming than satisfying, at least from a defensive standpoint.

"We can't lay down any kind of sympathy for nobody," guard Ramon Foster said. "I don't care what their record is. We have to smash faces."

Too many 'ifs' lead to Packers' demise

By Tom Silverstein

https://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/

November 27, 2017

Martavis Bryant prepares to catch a touchdown pass in Sunday night's 31-28 win over the Packers. (http://www.steelers.com/photos/)

PITTSBURGH – If is an empty word in the NFL.

Sort of like, if the Green Bay Packers use their gutty performance in a heartbreaking 31-28 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers to muster five straight victories to close the season, they can finish 10-6 and still have a chance at the playoffs.

Sure, it could happen, but the reality is their season is over.

It ended with Chris Boswell’s 53-yard field at the end of regulation crushing the Packers’ hopes of winning on the road as 14-point underdogs and putting them hopelessly behind their competition in the NFC.

You could argue that if they beat Tampa Bay at home next week and if they win at Cleveland the week after and if they beat three teams (Carolina, Minnesota and Detroit) with a combined 23-10 record after that, they might have an outside shot at the playoffs.

But you might as well take the lessons from their three-point loss to the 9-2 Steelers and apply them to the rest of this season because just as their margin for error was nil against the Steelers, it is the same for finishing the year undefeated. 

“Any given Sunday, anything can happen,” veteran linebacker Ahmad Brooks said. “We just don’t control our destiny. We’re not in the driver’s seat. As long as we keep winning, hopefully we can squeeze into the playoffs. We just have to keep this thing rolling.”

The problem with ifs is that they’re not any good unless they go your way and that was definitely not the case Sunday night.

Go ahead and play it out in your head.

The Packers might be 6-5 if:

» Coach Mike McCarthy punts the ball instead of ordering Mason Crosby to attempt a 57-yard field goal, which he misses badly, setting up the Steelers in prime field position for a game-tying touchdown late in the third quarter.

» Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt gets called for a helmet-to-helmet hit on quarterback Brett Hundley with 1 minute, 20 seconds left and the Packers on their own 18-yard line, practically guaranteeing the Steelers never see the ball again in regulation.

» Antonio Brown’s right foot lands another inch further toward the sideline, turning his miraculous reception into an incompletion, forcing the Steelers to go to overtime.

» Boswell’s 53-yard field goal attempt with no time left catches the wind that blew his earlier extra point wide left, resulting in the game going to overtime.

None of those things happened and so the Packers flew home having lost ground to their competition despite their backup quarterback playing the best game of his life and the defense causing offensive stars Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell to turn over the ball a combined three times.

If this were 2010 and the Packers had just lost to the New England Patriots, things might be a little different. For one, quarterback .

Aaron Rodgers would be returning next week, making everyone feel there was a chance to run the table.

But back then the Packers were 8-6 and still in the running for the playoffs.

Right now, they are tied with the Arizona Cardinals for ninth place in the NFC playoff race. Somehow, they would have to jump the New Orleans Saints or Carolina Panthers (8-3), Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons (7-4) and Detroit Lions (6-5) in the next five weeks.

Two of their three final games are on the road: Carolina on Dec. 17 and Detroit on Dec. 31.

Even if Rodgers were to come back for say, the Vikings game on Dec. 23, and the Packers were to win their final two games, it’s questionable whether 10 victories would be enough to make the playoffs.

Not in a year when one team (Philadelphia) is already at 10, and three others are within two games with one of those three teams (Saints) holding a tiebreaker and the other (Panthers) playing host to the Packers on Dec. 17.

And the fact of the matter is they just lost. Their best wasn’t good enough to beat the Steelers, even if it did make a statement to McCarthy about the grit of his football team. He can be proud about that.

“I just can’t say enough about our football team coming in here,” McCarthy said. “They’re doing all the right things. They’re working their asses off. Their preparation was excellent all the way up until the final moment.

“We hit the target on the focus of how we wanted to play the game.”

It’s the first time that McCarthy has been able to say anything of the sort since Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone in Week 6. But it needed to be said after the New Orleans game or the Detroit game or even last week after the Baltimore game.

The Packers easily could have beaten the Ravens if Hundley had played against them the way he played against the Steelers. He played it safe Sunday while at the same time sticking with his reads and completing 17 of 26 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns (134.3 passer rating).

McCarthy smartly structured the game plan around running back Jamaal Williams, who touched the ball 25 times, carrying 21 times for 66 yards and a touchdown and catching four passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.

The defense gave up 462 yards, including Roethlisberger’s 351 passing and four touchdowns, but made a game of it with three forced turnovers. Special teams was once again a negative with penalties making a crucial difference in the final outcome.

It was an inspired performance for a team that had lost four of its last five games, but it stands alone and might not mean a lot moving forward. Who’s to say Hundley will play this well the rest of the season or the defense will continue to force turnovers?

It’s possible it was one last rally before all their energy was spent.

“I don’t see it as shooting our last shot,” guard Jahri Evans said. “We executed our game plan and we just fell short. We ran out of time. We can continue to get better. There’s things we need to work on and we’ll address them.

“We’re professionals and we need to get better every day.”        

The biggest challenge McCarthy faces is keeping his team from thinking this was its parting shot of the 2017 season, and keeping it playing as though there is something left for which to play.

Realistically, there isn’t, but McCarthy can continue to learn a lot about this team in the final five weeks of the season.

“I don’t question one person in this locker room isn’t confident,” safety Morgan Burnett said. “If they weren’t they wouldn’t be here. The record says 5-6, but it’s not over. We can’t get caught up about where we stand.”

Steelers still rising while Packers try to stop sliding

By Will Graves

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/
November 24, 2017

(http://www.steelers.com/photos/index.html)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Mike McCarthy grew up in Pittsburgh and the roots still run deep for the longtime Green Bay Packers coach.

Sunday night’s visit to Heinz Field against the AFC North-leading Steelers will be a homecoming of sorts for McCarthy and several staff members, including defensive coordinator Dom Capers and special teams coordinator Ron Zook -- both of whom worked for the Steelers during the early days of the Bill Cowher regime two decades ago

“I think we should talk about the guys that are not from Pittsburgh and what the heck am I thinking hiring anybody that isn’t from Pittsburgh?” McCarthy said with a laugh.

Considering the way the Steelers (8-2) are rolling at the moment, maybe he’s on to something.

Pittsburgh has ripped off five straight victories, including a second-half demolition of Tennessee a week ago in which the Steelers finally looked like the dominant force they expected to be all along.

The surge came following an impassioned halftime pep talk from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He responded by shredding the Titans for three touchdown passes over the final two quarters in what the Steelers hope is a sign that the early season malaise , when the Steelers won frequently if not impressively, is finally over.

As encouraged as he was by what he saw on the field, if Roethlisberger has his preference, he’s rather not have to go full hype every week.

“I’m not the savior, you don’t just give speeches and they work,” Roethlisberger said. “It doesn’t happen very often. Usually, you don’t want to have to do them. It’s like fourth-quarter comebacks, you don’t want to have them because it means you stink early.”

While the Steelers are surging, the Packers (5-5) are sliding. Green Bay is 1-3 since Aaron Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone, putting the franchise’s streak of eight straight playoff berths in serious jeopardy. That’s too big picture for them to think about it at the moment as two-touchdown underdogs on the road.

Then again, it’s not like Green Bay has to dig too far back for inspiration. The Packers were 4-6 after 10 games last season, then won eight straight to reach the NFC title game. Then again, that was with Rodgers under center and not backup Brett Hundley.

“We’re not in a position where we feel the season’s over by any means,” linebacker Clay Matthews said. “We’re right in the thick of things. Obviously not where we anticipated or sought to be at the beginning of the season. But ... at 4-6 last year, we obviously overcame a lot to win eight in a row. It’s a little different this year in that respect, but at the same time, we’ve got a great opportunity in front of us.”

PICK CITY: Hundley had an awful game last week in a 23-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens , throwing three interceptions and losing a fumble after getting sacked. It was a big step back for the third-year quarterback after making clutch throws in the 23-16 win the previous week over the Chicago Bears.

Hundley’s backup is Joe Callahan, who has spent parts of two seasons with the Packers after joining the team as an undrafted free agent, so it’s going to take a lot for Hundley to get replaced. McCarthy is steadfast in his support of Hundley, with the offense-minded McCarthy taking some of the blame for the mistakes and lack of production.

“He’s here, he’s working out, everybody respects him, so I don’t see any issue with that,” McCarthy said.“At the end of the day, and I’ll just say it again: I believe in Brett Hundley. I believe in Brett Hundley as a quarterback and I believe he will improve, and that’s where we are.”

HUBBARD IN: Chris Hubbard takes over at right tackle for the Steelers while Marcus Gilbert begins his four-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy. Hubbard filled in capably for Gilbert earlier this season while Gilbert dealt with a balky hamstring injury.

“He’s played so much, having him around helps,” Roethlisberger said of Hubbard. “He’s not a rookie. He’s not a new guy. (Right guard David DeCastro) and him have a great relationship and rapport.”

The next month could be an audition of sorts for Hubbard, who is a free agent at the end of the season and is typically a reserve on a line where all five current starters are under contract through the end of 2018.

TAKING A HIT: Lost in the Packers’ offensive struggles has been the solid performance of a defense that held the Ravens to 219 yards overall last week, including 58 on the ground on 26 carries. The unit will be tested this week by the high-scoring Steelers, especially with the status of three key starters in question at midweek because of injuries: cornerback Kevin King (shoulder), linebacker Matthews (groin) and defensive lineman Kenny Clark (ankle). Clark has been especially good against the run, coupling with fellow lineman Mike Daniels to give the Packers a stout presence up front.

PRIME TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME: The Steelers have been nearly unbeatable at Heinz Field under the lights lately thanks in large part to Roethlisberger’s spectacular play. Roethlisberger is 7-0 in his last seven home prime-time games, throwing 24 touchdowns against two interceptions. That includes four scores and no picks last week against Tennessee.

It is time for Penguins to see what Sprong can do

By Mark Madden

http://www.timesonline.com/sports

November 19, 2017

The Penguins organization feels Daniel Sprong isn’t ready for the NHL.

Call him up anyway. Make Sprong prove he’s not ready.

The 20-year-old right winger couldn’t possibly do worse than any number of Penguins forwards.

Sprong, a rookie pro and second-round pick in the 2015 NHL draft, is thought to be defensively deficient. That part of his game would be a perfect fit in Pittsburgh. Nearly every forward is defensively deficient. It’s a free ride through the neutral zone to the Penguins’ end.

But unlike too many Penguins forwards this season, Sprong can score. He has nine goals in 14 games with the Pens’ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton affiliate. Sprong is a natural finisher, with high goal totals throughout his Major Junior career.

Such a call-up would be no knee-jerk reaction to the Penguins’ mediocre start. The team is 11-8-3 despite clearly suffering from a Stanley Cup hangover. That’s not disastrous. They’re tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Summoning Sprong to Pittsburgh would be a logical reaction to the Penguins’ inability to score, which is inexplicable given their talent.

The Penguins are averaging 2.68 goals per game. That figure ranks 25th in the NHL. Subtract 19 power-play goals and three short-handed goals, and they’re averaging 1.68 goals per. That’s pathetic production at even strength.

So call up the minor-leaguer who’s scoring and has pedigree thereof. That’s common sense.

Few Penguins forwards are producing at the expected level.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are pretty near, but hardly plumb. Second-year pro Jake Guentzel isn’t a secret anymore. Phil Kessel is on song, and Patric Hornqvist and Conor Sheary are going above and beyond.

But the Penguins have several forwards that just don’t score.

Fourth-liners carry low expectations. You could use more, but can’t rely on more.

But Bryan Rust (two goals in 22 games), Carl Hagelin (one goal in 21 games) and Riley Sheahan (one goal, an empty-netter, in 13 games) are underachieving at an inexcusable level. Rust and Hagelin have each skated in top-six roles intermittently. Rust gets some power-play time.

Rust does have 10 assists, and does play in traffic.

Hagelin’s forecheck and pace set a tempo. But he doesn’t go to the dirty areas often enough, and his finishing has zero polish.

Sheahan has scored in just two of his last 107 games. Sheahan not scoring isn’t unexpected, and it’s not exactly a mystery. Same problems as Hagelin, only worse: Doesn’t go to the blue paint, misfires at the moment of truth.

Rust, Hagelin and Sheahan are useful players in other aspects. Sheahan is particularly frustrating, because he never puts a skate wrong otherwise. He does all a third-line center should do, except he almost never scores.

Coach Mike Sullivan sometimes tries to create artificial depth by spreading his scoring among his top three lines.

The Penguins’ third line has been productive lately: Hornqvist has two goals in his last three games, and Sheary had two goals (including the overtime winner) in Tuesday’s 5-4 home victory over Buffalo.

But when their skills are evaluated within the context of the roster, Hornqvist and Sheary should be top-six. Third-line talents Hagelin and Rust have instead been used in the top six and simply have not helped in those roles.

Hagelin, Rust and Sheahan don’t score and don’t often even look like threats to score. You can’t have three guys like that playing as much as those three do.

Summon Sprong. Live with his weaknesses. Teach him. Let Sprong get acclimated. See how he does.

Perhaps Sprong will score some goals. This isn’t often said about the Penguins, but goals are a rare commodity right now.

If need be, move Guentzel to center. He certainly isn’t sparkling at wing. Drop Sheahan to fourth-line center.

Sprong and Kessel have similar quirks: Don’t hit much, don’t block shots, don’t excel on defense. It might seem difficult to have both in the lineup. But their deficiencies are much less damaging than a forward who never scores.

You can always send Sprong back to the minors. You can always move Guentzel back to wing. These aren’t desperate times, so these aren’t desperate measures. A big trade would be a desperate measure. These are reasonable experiments that should be tried, and can be discarded if they don’t work.

But much of the tried and true as regards the Penguins’ offense isn’t working right now. November is a good time to test different ideas.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Steelers' win over Titans even bigger than we think

By Tim Benz

http://triblive.com/sports/

November 18, 2017

(http://www.steelers.com/photos/)

The Steelers won a big game Thursday night.

And they probably won it because it really was a big game.

It might not have felt that way a few weeks ago. But it was.

The 2017 Steelers are an improved edition of a familiar model. They are yet another Steelers team with talent that can contend with anyone when they play with focus and determination.

But they are also a team that is flawed enough that it can keep even the worst of the NFL's clubs in a game if they are ill-prepared and out of focus.

For example, the 8-2 Steelers lost to 3-6 Chicago. They also won by just a field goal against 0-9 Cleveland and 3-7 Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, the Steelers have thus far been the only team to beat AFC West-leading Kansas City at home. They also won a road game against wild-card contending Detroit and are fresh off routing Tennessee, which entered Heinz Field 6-3 by a final of 40-17.

And therein lies the trend over the past few seasons.

Flashback to that AFC North duel on Christmas 2016 against the Ravens. At Kansas City or Cincinnati in the playoffs (and in the regular season). Denver at Heinz Field in December 2015. Six wins versus teams above .500 in 2014.

In recent years, the bigger the game, the better the Steelers play.

Unless it's against the Patriots.

More on them in a moment.

But as we are handing out bouquets for those who played well in that beatdown of Tennessee, let's save the biggest bushel for the Titans themselves.

Going into the bye a few weeks ago, that Titans game had the classic appearance of a matchup the Steelers would overlook. It reeked of a sleepwalking, short-week affair against a bland opponent.

Then Tennessee's improved play and standing in the AFC playoff mix prevented that from happening.

The Titans made Thursday night a big game with a recent hot stretch, and the Steelers responded as they often do.

“They had just won four straight. They were hot,” Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell said. “We went out there and made a statement.

“We were on our P's and Q's and got the job done.”

Bell is right. The Titans hadn't lost for a month. Not only did they creep into a first-place tie with Jacksonville atop the AFC South, but a victory at Heinz Field would have put them momentarily in front of the Chiefs and Steelers in the race to catch New England for AFC supremacy.

The Steelers noticed.

“We respect the Tennessee Titans,” Mike Tomlin said. “They are a division-leading, capable team.”

Yet, the Steelers' offensive explosion and defensive splash plays made the Titans decidedly incapable.

You could find preseason predictions on the Titans ranging anywhere from 7-9 to 12-4. They appeared to be a lot closer to the former Thursday. However, that doesn't dull the implications of this win.

If the Steelers had lost, they would have fallen to 7-3. As referenced earlier, the Jaguars and Titans then would have held potential tiebreakers over the Steelers in terms of playoff seeding depending on which one wins the AFC South.

A loss also would have dented the Steelers' ability to hold serve in its perpetual battle with 7-2 New England for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

Plus, seeing as how the Chiefs have just one game remaining against a team who currently boasts a winning record — the 5-4 Bills at Arrowhead next week — don't be stunned if they finish 13-3 despite some recent struggles.

So via tiebreakers and/or a potential loss to the Patriots before Christmas, that win Thursday over the Titans might have gone further than we had any right to expect between the Steelers getting the top seed in the playoffs as opposed to potentially the fourth seed.

That's a fourth seed that then would have necessitated a likely rematch against the South runner-up, with both candidates already claiming a win at Heinz Field during the regular season.

“Everybody was watching us tonight,” defensive end Cam Heyward said after the victory Thursday. “Now, we are in the clubhouse with a win. And everybody is still chasing us.”

On Sunday, the Patriots will be favored to beat Oakland. Jacksonville is at winless Cleveland. The Chiefs visit the 1-8 Giants. Therefore, you can expect whatever padding the Steelers have built going into the weekend to be gone.

So what could have been viewed as a potential “classic Steeler pitfall game” instead turned into exactly what usually constitutes a “classic Steeler kind of win.”

Late start. At home. Potential playoff opponent. Second half of the year.

Maybe that description finally can be applied to the Patriots as well this time around Dec. 17.

For a change.

Tim Benz hosts the Steelers pregame show on WDVE and ESPN Pittsburgh. He is a regular host/contributor on KDKA-TV and 105.9 FM.

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