Category: 2022 Week 10 Steelers vs. Saints

Steelers vs Saints: Multiple Pittsburgh starters miss Wednesday practice

The Steelers are down multiple starters this week.

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On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers got to work in preparation for the return from the bye week and Sunday’s home game against the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately, the Wednesday practice report was nothing but bad news as five players, including four starters all missed practice.

Here is the full practice report:

K Chris Boswell (Groin) DNP

CB William Jackson III (Back) DNP

CB Ahkello Witherspoon (Hamstring) DNP

CB Levi Wallace (Shoulder) FP

LS Christian Kuntz (Ribs) FP

LB Myles Jack (Knee) DNP

DT Larry Ogunjobi (Knee) DNP

It’s disconcerting to see so many starters out of practice after a week off. Pittsburgh is struggling to compete week in and week out so being minus this many starters could be disastrous this weekend.

The Steelers signed kicker Matthew Wright this week to replace Boswell who could miss several weeks.

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Steelers sign K Matthew Wright from Chiefs practice squad

The Steelers brought back kicker Matthew Wright.

Just when you thought Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell was fully healthy, there might be a change of plans. On Tuesday the Steelers released Nick Sciba, which we thought meant Boswell’s groin injury was a thing of the past.

But just one day later, the Steelers signed Matthew Wright from the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad and added him to the 53-man roster. Signing Wright from the Chiefs PS means he must remain on the Pittsburgh roster for three weeks. This doesn’t bode well for the severity of Boswell’s injury.

This will be Wright’s third stint with the Steelers. Pittsburgh originally signed Wright as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and lasted until final cuts. The Steelers re-signed Wright in November 2020. He was elevated from the practice squad for three games at the end of the season and hit all four of his field-goal tries as well as seven extra points.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin says team needs to ‘weaponize’ emotions

Mike Tomlin understands the power of emotions on the outcome of a game.

Time is running out for the Pittsburgh Steelers to get their season on track. The team is coming off of its bye week and is preparing to take on the New Orleans Saints. One big criticism about the team this season and frankly over the past several seasons has been the lack of emotion among this team.

Head coach Mike Tomlin talked about emotions and attitudes after the bye week and he offered the most Tomlin answer he could.

“Emotions can be good, emotions can be bad, it’s just whether or not you weaponize them,” Tomlin said.

That’s an interesting way to phrase it. You have to assume many if not all of the Steelers players are very frustrated and Tomlin wants to see them channel that frustration into rage and focus on the field. Going into the final nine games Pittsburgh has to accept this season might be lost in terms of the postseason so it is a matter of literally taking it a game at a time and making the best of what is a very bad situation.

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Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth wants to win, does’t care about extra targets

Pat Freiermuth doesn’t care about any extra targets if the team isn’t winning.

After practice on Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth spoke to the media and was very blunt about where he stands on the offense. Freiermuth looks to be a player who will benefit greatly in terms of targets and catches after the trade of wide receiver Chase Claypool.

But Freiermuth doesn’t care about any of that. All he wants to do is whatever it takes to help the team win. On the season, Freiermuth has 32 catches for 367 yards but only one touchdown. This is after catching seven touchdowns in 2021. Freiermuth does have three games of at least 75 receiving yards and has proven to be a reliable safety valve in the Pittsburgh passing offense. Freiermuth has the talent to be among the most productive tight ends in the league.

Freiermuth sounded like a player who is focused on winning some football games at any cost. Let’s hope the whole team shares his passion and comes into this week’s game against the New Orleans Saints with that singular goal.

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Steelers vs Saints: S Damontae Kazee plans to be activated this week

The Steelers are getting another defensive back this week.

The Pittsburgh Steelers could be getting a key defensive player back this week. Safety Damontae Kazee spoke to the media on Monday and says he is fully healed from the broken forearm he suffered in preseason and plans to be placed on the 53-man roster this week.

Kazee was signed as a free agent in the offseason as the team’s starting strong safety if Terrell Edmunds hadn’t returned. Once Edmunds did sign it looked like Pittsburgh would have a very deep safety group before Kazee suffered his injury.

Pittsburgh should get outside linebacker T.J. Watt back this week as well and will be very close to full health heading into this week’s game with the New Orleans Saints.

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Steelers vs Saints: 4 big concerns for this week’s game

Will the Steelers start the turnaround against the Saints this week?

After a full week off, the Pittsburgh Steelers are back to work, hoping to salvage the second half of this season. The New Orleans Saints come to town this week and are as desperate for wins as the Steelers. Here are our four big concerns for this week.

Steelers vs Saints: Pittsburgh opens as 3-point home underdogs

The Steelers still aren’t favored at home even coming off of the bye week.

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This week the Pittsburgh Steelers return from the bye week rested and ready to take on the second half of the season. The team should have outside linebacker T.J. Watt back and head coach Mike Tomlin is very good in games following the bye week.

So I’m sure the Steelers are home favorites this week against the New Orleans Saints, right? Not so fast. Tipico Sportsbook has its opening lines out for Week 10 and Pittsburgh is actually a three-point underdog. This is a clear indication of just how little faith the oddsmakers have in the Steelers at this point.

Pittsburgh sits at 2-6 and in last place in the AFC North. They have tons of talent on both sides of the football but haven’t been able to put it all together this season.

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