Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Steelers must stop the run and play to win instead of not to lose this week.
It’s time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to throw out everything from the previous two weeks and turn all their attention to finding a way to beat the Indianapolis Colts this week. If they don’t, this season might be over with three more games left to play. How do the Steelers shut out all the nonsense from the last two weeks and win this game? Read on and find out.
Can the Steelers shut out the noise and play with some heart this week?
There was a point in the season when it felt like the Pittsburgh Steelers had turned the corner and were on track to really make some noise in the AFC. Now the Steelers are on a two-game losing streak and fighting for some modicum of respect by the rest of the league. It all starts on Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts. Here are the storylines to watch in this game.
Mitch Trubisky played through boo-birds and chants for his backup, Mason Rudolph.
Mitch Trubisky took it in the teeth last Thursday, both from the New England Patriots and the crowd of Steelers faithful at Acrisure Stadium.
But he continued to play on, even if it wasn’t good. Though he stumbled, he didn’t crumble — through getting booed and hearing chants for your backup.
“That dude fought through. They were booing him and chanting Mason Rudolph,” former Steelers running back Merril Hoge said on the DVE Morning Show on Wednesday.
Though he didn’t persevere, Hoge respects Trubisky’s attitude.
“The way he played and fought through that. I have enormous respect for him. I do. He showed me something from a character perspective and a mental perspective that I was like, I mean, a lot of people in that position would’ve crumbled.”
Even for the interception, Hoge doesn’t blame Trubisky but targeted tight end Pat Freiermuth.
“The pick that Trubisky threw … Freiermuth makes a move and just quits. He’s supposed to break it inside and he just quits. … He stopped and backpedaled. I’ve never seen a route like that. And there would be no reason to do that based on the coverage that they were playing. He should have been where the ball was. I’m just telling you that.”
Hoge said he didn’t like Trubisky as a first-round draft pick, stating that nothing would tell any team that he was that caliber of a quarterback. “If you studied him in college, he has the exact same things today that he had in college, and they’ve never changed, they’ve only gotten worse, they’ve been magnified.”
Still, Hoge credited his leadership skills for not throwing Freiermuth under the bus. “His job is to throw it, and when you lose, it is about you. It’s not about other people. And he followed that model perfectly, but the way he played throughout that game, I was like, that kid deserves a lot of credit because he was getting, I mean, beat up.”
Trubisky needs to play strong and sound football and use that teeth-kicking as fuel against the Indianapolis Colts. Because if he doesn’t, the Steelers are in even more trouble as the 2023 regular season winds down.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
George Pickens went third person to make his point on Thursday.
Despite everything that has taken place over the last few weeks, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens doesn’t seem to have learned a thing. Pickens has been called out for his sideline antics and just recently, former Steeler Merril Hoge called him out along with his teammates for lazy route running.
But Pickens is undeterred from his thankless self-promotion. On Thursday he stepped it up a notch by going third-person when he addressed the media on Thursday.
“I’m still doing what George does to get open and catch the ball and score,” Pickens said. “That’s all I want to do.”
Loosely translated, Pickens is doing his job, getting open, but his quarterbacks can’t get him the football. This might be true to a degree. Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett have been pretty awful this season. Saying it the way he did publicly isn’t exactly the team-first attitude you like to see but I think we all understand this is not your father’s Steelers team.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
Mitch Trubisky had an amazing, 2016 season as UNC’s quarterback, but his NFL career largely hasn’t panned out. He will start on Saturday.
Many UNC fans remember former quarterback Mitch Trubisky as the one-season wonder who shredded ACC defenses in 2016, throwing for 3,748 passing yards and 30 touchdown in his first (and only) season as a starter.
Trubisky spent two years behind Marquise Williams, one of the best Carolina dual-threat quarterbacks in recent memory. That decision by former head coach Larry Fedora proved to pay off, with Trubisky being selected second overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.
For someone selected that highly, you’d think they’re an All-Pro.
Trubisky is far from that. He has a solid touchdown-to-interception ratio (71 TD, 46 INT in career) and can run when needed (1,172 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns), but he’s not producing at the level of a second overall pick.
Despite leading the Chicago Bears to a couple of playoff appearances, inconsistent play led to him be benched in favor of Nick Foles. Trubisky then bounced to the Buffalo Bills for a season, then signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers last year.
With typical Steelers start Kenny Pickett out indefinitely, due to a right ankle sprain, Trubisky is getting his second chance to start in the Steel City.
On Monday, Dec. 11, Trubisky was named starter for Pittsburgh’s Saturday tilt against the Indianapolis Colts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0uJ0dZgvyR/
This matchup has major playoff implications for both teams, with each sitting at 7-6 and holding onto a wild card spot. Whoever wins stays in, plus whoever loses likely drops out of the playoff picture.
Trubisky has not played great this year, throwing for 463 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions across four games – all of which are Steelers losses. He showed promise on the ground in Sunday’s loss to the 3-win New England Patriots, rushing for 30 yards and a touchdown, but largely played too conservatively.
If Pittsburgh wants to keep its playoff hopes alive, it’ll need Trubisky to re-visit his 2016 days at UNC.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
The Steelers need big games from these five players.
Time is running out for the Pittsburgh Steelers to get this season on track. Injuries and inconsistent play have the Steelers backing into the playoffs with no guarantees that this team will even make it. But if the Steelers are going to salvage the season it starts on Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts with a banged-up roster. Here are our five guys who must step up this week.
Mitch Trubisky got a bit of a raw deal in preparation for the Patriots.
Mitch Trubisky got a bit of a raw deal in preparation for the New England Patriots. As teams that play Thursday night games do, the Pittsburgh Steelers had to cram a week’s worth of work into three days — making a normally difficult quarterback transition even more challenging.
But on the other side of short weeks are long weeks, and Mike Tomlin has high expectations for the former first-round pick, given the mini-bye Pittsburgh has.
Barring a total disaster — perhaps a repeat of his Week 14 performance — the Steelers offense is expected to run through Trubisky until Kenny Pickett‘s anticipated return for the regular season finale versus the Ravens in Baltimore on Jan. 7.
“[It’s] a reasonable expectation for him to be even better because of that [Week 14] experience and because of the experience of having a full week’s prep this week in preparation for the performance in-helmet reps and full-speed reps,” Tomlin said in Monday’s press conference.
Tomlin acknowledged there’s work to be done on the offensive side of the ball but believes Trubisky “picked up his play as the game wore on” versus New England.
Trubisky completed 63 percent of his passes for 190 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
A switch to Mason Rudolph was never a consideration for Tomlin, and it doesn’t sound like it will be going forward, either.
Tomlin said it's "reasonable" to expect Mitch Trubisky to be better for the game at Indianapolis on Saturday.
— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) December 11, 2023
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
The crowd wanted Mason Rudolph but Mike Tomlin never thought about making a change.
To say Thursday was a rough outing for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky would be an understatement. Trubisky talked a good game going into his first start of the season but when it came time to show it on the field, things didn’t go according to plan.
This did not sit well with the Steelers faithful at Acrisure Stadium. The chants for Mason Rudolph echoed throughout the stadium louder and louder with every failed drive.
But after the game, head coach Mike Tomlin said he never considered benching Trubisky in favor of Mason Rudolph.
While we can appreciate Tomlin’s sentiment the reasons for this is more practical than anything. As poorly as Trubisky played, Rudolph wasn’t going to turn that game around. And all you would have done is play Rudolph in a loss and then turn back to Trubisky the following week. Then you’ve disrupted team chemistry and player confidence.
The Steelers need to figure out how to get things on track in a hurry because Kenny Pickett is still recovering from ankle surgery.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
Mitch Trubisky, who enjoyed a phenomenal 2016 season as UNC’s starting quarterback, started for the Pittsburgh Steelers last night.
There was a lot of surprise when the Chicago Bears selected former UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky second overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Trubisky had a phenomenal junior season at Carolina, throwing for 3,748 yards, 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions. A lot of Tar Heel Nation expected him to declare for the NFL Draft, which he did, but my thought is that one good season does not define you.
The Bears could’ve had future Hall of Famer Patrick Mahomes, or current Cleveland Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson, but they opted for the former Ohio Mr. Football award-winnder.
Since being drafted by Chicago, Trubisky has bounced around the Northeast a little bit. He spent one season as a Buffalo Bill, before landing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Trubisky was originally named the starter to open 2022, but ended up being benched in favor of then-rookie Kenny Pickett.
With Pickett suffering a high ankle sprain last weekend, Pittsburgh was forced to thrust Trubisky into action Thursday night against the New England Patriots. These aren’t the same Tom Brady-led Patriots, but a team that entered last night’s matchup with just two wins.
Trubisky started off the game rough, but played decent for someone being thrust into starting action. He completed 22-of-35 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown, threw one interception, but also ran eight times for 30 yards and another score in the Steelers’ 21-18 loss.
For someone who hasn’t been a full-time starter since early in the 2022-2023 campaign, I’d call Trubisky’s performance respectable. It’s not the type of outing a playoff hopeful wants to see against the AFC East’s cellar, but one that could encourage Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin to start him again next weekend.
Who knows – maybe Trubisky will go on a hot streak and supplant Pickett as future starter?
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
The Chicago Bears don’t even have to play to catch some shade from Al Michaels.
Even though the Chicago Bears weren’t playing on Thursday Night Football, they still caught some heat from longtime NFL broadcaster Al Michaels.
While introducing starting Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky to the Amazon audience at home, Michaels referred to Trubisky’s ill-fated tenure with the Bears after being taken with a top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Per NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock, Michaels joked that the Bears thought Trubisky would be the next Sid Luckman and that the team has been looking for the next franchise star since “the 17th century.”
Ouch! Michaels really didn’t hold back on this one.
Al Michaels with an early shot at the Bears when introducing Mitch Trubisky: “He was going to be the next Sid Luckman. Something Chicago has been looking for since the 17th century.”
— Josh Schrock (@Schrock_And_Awe) December 8, 2023
It’s true that the Bears have been searching for a franchise quarterback for quite some time, with 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields still not fully entrenched in his job for the 2024 season and beyond.
It’s very possible the Bears will start all over again next spring by trading Fields and picking one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, even if the team’s track record doesn’t suggest good things.
For now, the team will have Fields, the rough memories of Trubisky and Michaels throwing out some shade during a game that doesn’t even involve Chicago.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1371]
