NFL announces date and time for Steelers vs Colts

The Steelers will take on the Colts on a Saturday in December.

Going into the season, the date and time for the Pittsburgh Steelers matchup with the Indianapolis Colts was TBD. But on Thursday the NFL announced that the game is now set for Saturday, December 16 at 4:30 PM ET. The game will be televised on the NFL Network.

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Steelers rack up hefy fines after post-interception celebration

13 Steelers received fines from the NFL this week.

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The NFL came down hard on Pittsburgh Steelers this week after a large number of the team celebrated an interception by cornerback James Pierre during last week’s game. As a group, the team was fined $132,484 for the celebration.

After Pierre’s first-quarter interception of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan, Pierre and a dozen teammates ran to the end zone to celebrate, The celebration, one that started in training camp, involved one player throwing the football up like a target and the rest of the players simulating shooting it out of the sky.

Here is how the fines broke down:

LB T.J. Watt $13,261

S Minkah Fitzpatrick $13,261

LB Myles Jack $13,261

LB Marcus Allen $13,261

CB Cameron Sutton $13,261

CB Levi Wallace $13,261

S Terrell Edmunds $13,261

S Tre Norwood $4,715

CB James Pierre $4,989

S Damontae Kazee $6,597

CB Arthur Maulet $8,528

LB Malik Reed $8,333

LB Alex Highsmith $6,495

The disparity in fines relates to the NFL’s policy about how much can be fined. The larger figure is the standard amount for a veteran player on a first-time offense bu the smaller amounts are based on a percentage of the player’s salary, hence they are lower.

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PFF offers remarkable stat on Steelers QB Kenny Pickett from Week 12

Kenny Pickett had his best performance of his career on Monday night.

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The 24-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night certainly qualified as a breakout performance for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. It was Pickett’s best all-around performance highlighted by no turnovers and even a fourth-quarter drive to win the game.

According to Pro Football Focus, Pickett graded out with an impressive 88.5. This was the second-highest-graded quarterback of the week and the highest grade by a rookie quarterback this season. Pickett threw for 174 yards on 20-for-28 passing with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Pickett also rushed for 32 yards on six carries.

But perhaps more remarkable is PFF noting this is the highest grade by Steelers quarterback in four seasons. Week 10 of the 2018 season, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 328 yards and five passing touchdowns on 22-for-25 passing. It was a near-perfect display en route to a 52-21 blowout win over the Carolina Panthers. This game was a masterclass in quarterbacking and I honestly don’t put the two performances in the same class.

Nevertheless, the improvement in Pickett has been clear and this was definitely his best all-around performance of his rookie season.

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Mike Tomlin offers limited Steelers injury updates

Mike Tomlin offered a very limited update on the injury to Najee Harris.

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On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media and offered a very limited injury update from Monday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.

According to Tomlin, they are still in the process of evaluating the abdominal injury running back Najee Harris suffered on Monday night. With Harris out of the lineup, backup Benny Snell played well.

Tomlin also noted that multiple players had bumps and bruises associated with play that the team would keep an eye on. This includes linebacker T.J. Watt, defensive tackle Larry Ogujobi, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and linebacker Myles Jacks.

The Steelers now must turn around on a short week, come back to Pittsburgh and then turn around and fly to Atlanta this week and take on the Falcons.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin emphasizes shortcomings on special teams in win over Colts

The Steelers special teams get no props from Mike Tomlin.

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There was a huge swing in momentum Monday night between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts. After the Steelers controlled the game for much of the first half, their kickoff team gave up an 89-yard return by Dallis Flowers that the Colts turned into points.

That was a key part of the second-half collapse, according to head coach Mike Tomlin. While Tomlin was pleased with the play of many players in what turned out to be a 24-17 win, he noted after the game and again Tuesday that the coverage was not good.

“We were missing Miles Boykin and Robert Spillane, but boy, it’s not acceptable,” Tomlin said.

Thankfully the Steelers were able to weather the storm after that momentum shift and regroup in the fourth quarter. As Tomlin noted, multiple key special teamers were out with injuries, and another key player, running back Benny Snell, was forced into the starting lineup.

Tomlin also noted that the Atlanta Falcons have a very good return game, and Pittsburgh faces off with them next week.

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Steelers pull off close win over Colts on Monday Night Football

Pittsburgh improves to 4-7 with Monday’s win.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers utilized an aggressive defense and punishing run game to overcome some second-half miscues and pull out the 24-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Pittsburgh came out of the gate hot with a smothering defense that held the Colts to zero yards in the first quarter and only 71 yards in the first half. This helped Pittsburgh head into halftime with a 16-3 lead.

But the second half started off as badly as it could. The Colts got a huge kickoff return that swung all the momentum to Indianapolis. The Steelers were able to weather that shift and put themselves in a position to win the game late. Thanks to some hard-nosed running by backup Benny Snell Jr. and an excellent performance by quarterback Kenny Pickett, the Steelers got the go-ahead score late. Pittsburgh’s defense then closed things out on the final drive.

This win improves the Steelers record to 4-7 but they remain last in the AFC North. Pittsburgh now has to prepare quickly on a short week to travel to Atlanta and go against the Falcons.

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Steelers RB Najee Harris out with abdominal injury

Najee Harris won’t return in the second half.

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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris suffered an abdominal injury in Monday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts that limited him for much of the first now. It appeared that it might have been a foot injury but the team has now announced Harris is out for the game with an abdominal injury.

Harris was playing much better football since coming back from the bye week and this is a huge blow for the Steelers run game. It is made even worse by the fact that backup Jaylen Warren was already inactive with a hamstring injury.

Going forward it will be Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr. keeping things moving in the run game. Pittsburgh rushed for 116 yards in the first half and currently lead the Colts 16-10.

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