Steelers Gameday
FINAL: Steelers 17, Kansas City Chiefs 7
FOURTH QUARTER
2:00 Marcus Allen drills Kansas City tight end Blake Bell, knocking the ball loose. Tegray Scales falls on it. That should put the result out of question.
4:22 That one is going to count. Hodges finds Johnson for 24 yards, in between defenders down the left-side numbers. The officials reviewed Johnson’s diving catch, but it withstood scrutiny.
Boswell’s extra point is good. Steelers drive went 10 plays, 80 yards and took 5:48.
10:10 Devlin Hodges is in at quarterback for Pittsburgh. Dobbs finishes going 6 of 11 for 95 yards with an interception.
12:47 Rookie kicker Matthew Wright connects from 46 yards out into the open end at Heinz Field to mercifully break the tie.
14:15 Diontae Johnson thought he had his first NFL touchdown, but he was called for a push-off and offensive pass interference.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin threw a challenge flag and had the officials review their penalty call, the first time he’s done so under a new NFL rule.
The officials upheld the call.
THIRD QUARTER
9:03 Steelers doing some cross-training in the secondary. Mike Hilton moved from slot corner to free safety, Cameron Sutton moved from slot corner to outside corner and Kameron Kelly moved from free safety to slot corner.
HALFTIME LEADERS
Mason Rudolph 10-15, 77 yards
Chad Henne 7-14, 96 yards
James Conner 6 carries, 28 yards
Darwin Thompson, 4 carries, 30 yards
James Washington 3 catches, 73 yards
Deon Yelder 2 catches, 31 yards
SECOND QUARTER
0:11 An ill-advised throw by Josh Dobbs was intercepted and nearly returned for a touchdown. He made a nice tackle to stop a score, but went 0-for-2 in two tries in the two-minute drill.
0:28 Steelers drive stalls despite a long pass from Dobbs to Washington, but he’s going to get another shot. Henne fumbled the snap and Tuzar Skipper falls on it.
1:04 Josh Dobbs is in at quarterback to rn the two-minute offense.
Rudolph finishes 10 of 15 for 77 yards.
1:11 Chiefs get the score back before the half on a 17-yard pass from Chad Henne to Mecole Hardman, a second-round pick out of Georgia.
Extra point is good. Scoring drive goes 13 plays, 81 yards in 5:26 and sets up the Steelers with a two-minute offense opportunity.
6:11 Looks like the Steelers’ top backs and receivers are done for the day.
James Conner: 6 carries, 28 yards; 1 catch, 6 yards
JuJu Smith-Schuster: 3 targets, 0 catches
Donte Moncrief: 1 target, 1 catch, 1 yard, fumble
Vance McDonald: 1 target, 1 catch, 5 yards
6:39 Jaylen Samuels gets on the board with 14-yard scamper around the left side. The Steelers have been hitting the outside edges for good gains all night.
Chris Boswell hits the extra point. Scoring drive went 14 plays, 89 yards in 8:06.
FIRST QUARTER
7:26 The Steelers were hoping for a nice test from the Kansas City first-team offense, and Andy Reid said they might play a half, but Patrick Mahomes lasted just two series. Chad Henne in at quarterback and promptly sacked by Bud Dupree.
7:41 Steelers give it right back. Donte Moncrief coughed up the ball after a short completion from Rudolph. It is wet out there. Steelers had uncharacteristically mild weather throughout training camp. Haven’t had a ton of wet ball work.
7:54 Artie Burns and Terrell Edmunds forced a fumble after the Steelers were badly out-manned on a running play to their side of the field. Burns was the only unblocked black shirt at the point of attack and stood up Carlos Hyde. Edmunds ripped the ball out.
Turnovers have been a point of emphasis for the Steelers’ defense all season.
9:33 Steelers punt for the second time, one from each punter. Jordan Berry took the first rep, backup Ian Berryman took the second. Just 37 yards for Berryman.
11:09 Even though he’s dressed, there was no Devin Bush in the Steelers’ first defensive drive. He took warmups and is on the sideline in uniform, but doesn’t appear to have a helmet.
Bush missed some time in practice this week and Mike Tomlin suggested he could be dealing with an injury.
15:00 Steelers starters:
QB Mason Rudolph
RB James Conner
TE Vance McDonald
TE Xavier Grimble
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
WR Donte Moncrief
LT Alejandro Villanueva
LG Ramon Foster
C B.J. Finney
RG Matt Feiler
RT Chukwuma Okorafor
DE Stephon Tuitt
NT Javon Hargrave
DE Cameron Heyward
OLB T.J. Watt
ILB Mark Barron
ILB Tyler Matakevich
OLB Bud Dupree
CB Steven Nelson
CB Artie Burns
FS Sean Davis
SS Terrell Edmunds
PREGAME NOTES
8:30 p.m. The Chiefs won the coin toss and will defer to the second half.
The Steelers prayed as a team before taking the field and the whole stadium offered a moment of silence for Darryl Drake.
8:00 p.m. The NFL doesn’t do official inactive for preseason games, but following players do not appear dressed for tonight’s game:
QB Ben Roethlisberger
TE Zach Gentry
TE Christian Scotland-Williamson
OL David DeCastro
OL Maurkice Pouncey
LB Vince Williams
LB Sutton Smith
LB Ola Adeniyi
CB Joe Haden
7:35 p.m: Make it 15 more minutes, as the Steelers have announced an 8:30 p.m. kickoff. The fans are filtering back into the seating area.
Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 17, 2019
🚨UPDATE🚨
All fans can now return to the seating area!
— Heinz Field (@heinzfield) August 17, 2019
7:30 p.m: Kickoff has been rescheduled for 8:15 p.m., a delay of 40 minutes.
Due to inclement weather in the area, players are expected to take the field at 6:30 CT with an anticipated kick off time of 7:15 CT.#KCvsPIT
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 17, 2019
7:00 p.m: With a heavy rain coming down and storms into the area, the Steelers have cleared the field during warmups and delayed the kickoff of tonight’s game.
The Heinz Field staff has also cleared the stands, moving fans.
🚨UPDATE🚨
Due to incoming weather, all fans should leave the seating area and move inside.
We will update this message when the weather has cleared.
— Heinz Field (@heinzfield) August 17, 2019
A time for kickoff, originally scheduled for 7:35 p.m., has not been announced.
GAMEDAY INFO
Saturday, August 17, 7:35 p.m.
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
SN Coverage: Alan Saunders, Mike Asti
TV/Radio: KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh) and NFL Network (Nationally), Steelers Radio Network (102.5 WDVE-FM)
PGH WEATHER NOW FORECAST
Party cloudy, 83 degrees at kickoff.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Mason Rudolph will get the start after backing up Josh Dobbs in Week 1 as the two continue to battle for the backup quarterback job. Dobbs is also expected to play, as is fourth-stringer Devlin Hodges.
• Mike Tomlin started just three of his 22 first-team players against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. He said he’ll play more this week, but declined to get into specifics.
• The wide receivers unit should be close to full strength, with free agent signing Donte Moncrief and rookie Diontae Johnson both returning to practice this week after missing last week’s game. Moncrief has played X receiver opposite JuJu Smith-Schuster, and should be a first-week starter, but Johnson has played just about everywhere. It will be interesting to see how the Steelers work him in.
• The team will debut its season-long memorial tributeseason-long memorial tribute to wide receivers coach Darryl Drake, who passed away on Sunday. Expect there to be a moment of silence and other, individual tributes, as well.
INJURY UPDATES
OUT: OLB Ola Adeniyi, who had surgery on a torn meniscus on Friday and is expected to miss two to four weeks.
QUESTIONABLE: Players that did not practice Thursday include CB Joe Haden (foot contusion), RG David DeCastro (soreness), TE Christian Scotland-Williamson (upper body), ILB Vince Williams (hamstring).
ILB Devin Bush (undisclosed), C Maurkice Pouncey (undisclosed) and OLB Sutton Smith (abdomen) also missed time in practice this week.
MORE ON KANSAS CITY
STEELERS NOW COVERAGE THIS WEEK
Saunders: Steelers Leaders’ Show True Ability in Response to Tragedy
Report: Steelers LB Ola Adeniyi to Miss At Least 2-4 Weeks with Torn Meniscus
Steelers Sign Two, Including Char Valley, Duquesne Alum Christian Kuntz
Mike Tomlin Evaluates Performance of Rookies Devin Bush, Justin Layne, Ulysees Gilbert
Mike Tomlin, Steelers Begin Process of Moving on after Death of Coach, Friend Darryl Drake
Steelers WRs Grieving Loss of ‘Amazing Role Model’ in Darryl Drake
PITTSBURGH — Steelers rookie linebacker Alex Highsmith suffered an ankle injury that will require an MRI in Sunday’s playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Highsmith left the game in the first half and was seen limping on the Pittsburgh sideline. He made an attempt to return to the game, but was unable to continue playing and did not see the field at all in the second half.
In-game, the Steelers announced that Highsmith was doubtful to return with an ankle injury. After the fact, head coach Mike Tomlin said that Highsmith suffered a high ankle sprain. Highsmith’s father posted on Twitter early on Monday morning that Highsmith will require an MRI on his injured ankle.
Not the way we wanted the season to end but I am thankful to have been a part of this amazing ride! The Highsmith Family is proud to wear the Black & Gold and we look forward to more success in the future! Please pray for Alex as he gets an MRI tomorrow on his ankle! #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/JJA4PpZpvx
— Sam Highsmith (@SHighsmithClan) January 11, 2021
Given that Highsmith was able to walk and even run in short bursts after the injury, it does not seem likely that it will impact his offseason training plans.
The team’s third-round draft pick out of Charlotte, Highsmith was thrust into a starting role after starting outside linebacker Bud Dupree suffered an ACL injury that required surgery.
On the season, Highsmith played in 16 regular season game and made five starts. He finished with 48 tackles, five for a loss, six quarterback hits, one interception and one pass defended.
With Dupree set to become an unrestricted free agent and unlikely to return, Highsmith should be expected to retain his starting role in 2021.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin answers questions from the media following his team’s shocking defeat at the hands of the Browns in the playoffs. Tomlin explained why he decided to punt on a 4th and 1 in the 4th quarter while trailing by multiple scores. He also touched on the timeline for when he will talk to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger about his future with the team.
PITTSBURGH — It was repeated so often in the five days between when JuJu Smith-Schuster said the phrase on Wednesday to Sunday night’s game at Heinz Field, that it nearly became the No. 1 talking point coming into the game.
“The Browns is the Browns.” Before the game, after the game and probably during the game, many of the Browns made it clear that they had taken exception to Smith-Schuster’s characterization of the team.
The Browns IS THE BROWNS!! 🌚
— Jedrick Wills Jr.®️++💕 (@JWills73) January 11, 2021
Smith-Schuster said after the game that he had no regrets about what he said.
“You know, I don’t regret what I said,” Smith-Schuster said. “I said, ‘The Browns is the Browns.’ They came out and they played a hell of a game. You know, there’s been games where we feel we lose them and today wasn’t our night and hopefully the same Browns will show up next week against the same opponent and go out and do the same thing they did tonight and have a hell of a game.”
