Monday’s “First Call” has reaction from Los Angeles regarding that questionable spot at the end of Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers game. George Pickens is telling himself to learn a lesson from that win. We look at the Steelers’ opponent for next week.
And we check in on a landmark in the return of Robert Morris hockey.
Staying mum
Rams coach Sean McVay is choosing his words carefully when it comes to discussing that controversial spot of the ball at the end of his team’s loss to the Steelers on Sunday.
Trailing 24-17 just before the two-minute warning, the Rams needed to stop the Steelers on a fourth-down quarterback sneak from Kenny Pickett. The Rams defensive players thought they did and had just gotten the ball back on downs.
However, the Steelers appeared to get a generous spot of the ball and kept possession.
Was this a first down?
????: FOX pic.twitter.com/IVxhKih7Ja
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 22, 2023
Unfortunately for McVay, he couldn’t challenge the spot because he had no timeouts remaining.
“It doesn’t matter what I think. That was the spot they made,” McVay said following the defeat. “It’s not a challengeable play that I could — I’m not going to sit here and make any excuses about stuff that didn’t go down. … Those plays shouldn’t have come down to that if we execute like we were capable of. You guys saw the same stuff that I did, but it doesn’t do any good. That’s what was called and that’s what we have to be able to live with.”
The Steelers kneeled out the clock from there and won the game.
Situational awareness
Steelers wide receiver George Pickens got a taunting penalty during the game. So did Diontae Johnson.
“A game like this showed me, they’re kinda looking at me for trying to mess up,” Pickens said after the win. “Guys are antagonizing me more. Today is the first time I’ve seen anything like that. Guys were really just trying to get me out of the game or get under my skin deliberately. All I can really say is ‘Keep fighting hard.’”
When asked about those penalties and another one against Pickens for an illegal block during a catch and run by Johnson in the first half, Tomlin fell back on his standard “I’d rather say ‘whoa’ than ‘sic ’em’” explanation.
Well, then he better say “whoa” a lot louder so Pickens and Johnson don’t ever do that again. Frankly, I don’t consider post-whistle unsportsmanlike conduct penalties “say whoa” kind of moments. Those are more like, “pull your head out of your backside” kind of moments.
The block by Pickens, yes, that falls under the “say whoa than sick ’em” umbrella. At least that’s a case of a player trying to make a play to help the team. Getting a taunting flag is just an example of a player losing his cool and selfishly putting himself above the team because he thinks running his mouth is more important than getting back to the huddle and executing the next snap.
They aren’t the same things.
More Steelers
• Madden Monday: With win, maybe Steelers 'can fool us a bit longer — and fool themselves'
• Feats of Strength/Airing of Grievances: Diontae Johnson's return, T.J. Watt's splash key Steelers 2nd-half surge in L.A.
• Running game finds footing, executes in red zone to help Steelers defeat Rams
Keep an eye on Calvin
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the Steelers’ next opponent. And they will be well rested. Jacksonville didn’t play Sunday. They won a Thursday night game against the New Orleans Saints.
One way they will be using this extra time is to figure out a way to get Calvin Ridley more involved. The wide receiver had just one catch on four targets for only five yards. The week before he only had 30 yards on four catches with eight targets during a 37-20 win over Indianapolis.
“We still have to try to get him involved and get him more opportunities to catch the football,” coach Doug Pederson said. “You’ve got to credit the defense sometimes too, they know when you have a weapon on offense, and if they can neutralize it, advantage them. Credit to the Saints for doing that.
“Calvin is in a really good place, he’s a big part of the offense obviously. We’re going to continue to find ways to get him the ball.”
Tight end Evan Engram leads the team with 51 receptions. Receiver Christian Kirk leads in yards (474), targets (55) and touchdowns (3).
Place your bets
The Jaguars are a 1.5-point favorite against the Steelers (4-2) according to Caesar’s Sportsbook. The over-under is at 41.5.
Jacksonville is 5-2 atop the AFC South. After a choppy start, the Jags are now winners of four in a row. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had a message for everyone who thought the club may be a disappointment in 2023 after dropping two of its first three games.
Y’all keep your opinions and we’ll keep finding ways to win ???? #Analysts pic.twitter.com/22xQHp2SIA
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) October 21, 2023
Lawrence has just one interception during the win streak (in 126 attempts) and has a quarterback rating between 91.1 and 105.8 in every game.
This will be Jacksonville’s first visit to Acrisure Stadium since their 45-42 win during the 2017-18 AFC playoffs.
Cause for celebration
The Robert Morris men’s hockey team won a shootout over Holy Cross on Saturday.
COLONIALS WIN!!!!#BobbyMo |????????????| #RMUnite #AHA20 pic.twitter.com/71PSU4gM0b
— RMU Men’s Hockey (@RMUMHockey) October 21, 2023
In college hockey, it goes down in the record books as a 3-3 tie. But the Colonials picked up the extra point in the standings, and it was their first celebration on home ice since the team got reinstated following a two-year absence. RMU managed to overcome a 3-0 deficit to force overtime in the first place.
Holy Cross won the first game of the weekend series Friday night 3-1. The Colonials (1-2-2) welcome Bentley (2-2) for two games this weekend.
As for the RMU women (3-5), they dropped a pair to Clarkson (7-0-1) by scores of 6-1 on Friday and 2-1 on Saturday.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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