Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 37 - Number 4 i Steelers Digest

It’s a built-in opportunity for some self-evaluation, and for the Steelers this particular bye comes along essentially halfway through their 17-game regular season schedule. Following a 26-18 victory over the New York Giants at Acrisure Stadium on Monday Night Football, the Steelers are 6-2 heading into their bye week. Certainly not a finished product because there are obvious areas that need work, but just as certainly there are a lot of things to like about how this team got to where it is at this point of its season. Mathematically, 6-2 places them atop the AFC North Division, with a onegame lead over 5-3 Baltimore and a three-game lead over 3-5 Cincinnati. Their 6-2 also currently places them as the No. 3 seed in the AFC, behind 7-0 Kansas City…

It was a night to celebrate, share stories, re-connect with old teammates, and remember those who are no longer around. There was laughter and tears, handshakes and hugs, as members of the Steelers Super Bowl IX team gathered for a family reunion like no other. It was all part of the Steelers 2024 Alumni Weekend Dinner, presented by UPMC, UPMC Health Plan & U.S. Steel, at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. The dinner, which benefits the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program, was a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1974 season and Super Bowl IX. The team will be honored at halftime of Sunday night’s game against the Jets. The Steelers won their first Super Bowl following the 1974 season, defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 16-6, in Super Bowl IX…

The Steelers wanted to see, and Oct. 20 at Acrisure Stadium was the right time because it was the first time the opportunity presented itself. And when time expired on what ended up being a 37-15 victory over the New York Jets, they had to be pleased with what they saw. As the 2024 offseason began, after two years of wandering through the quarterback wilderness following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers were presented with a path forward. The working relationship between Russell Wilson and Broncos Coach Sean Payton had soured beyond repair, and the Steelers saw an economical opportunity to add to the mix a 9-time Pro Bowl quarterback who had played in 2 Super Bowls and won 1. That action precipitated some unforeseen reaction, and over a…

This is what it can look like. The issue is whether this formula can get them where they want to go. The Steelers snapped their two-game losing streak in decisive fashion in Sin City on Oct. 13 with a 32-13 victory over the Raiders that left them at 4-2 with a lot of room for feel-good about the way they looked doing it. On offense, they took the field with the same starting five along the offensive line for the second game in a row – the first time all season that happened – and the running game responded with its most productive showing of 2024 with 183 yards (more than 40 yards better than the 141 vs. Denver), a 5.2 average (more than 1 full yard better than the…

From the notebook of a sports writer who thinks Calvin & Beanie would be a great cartoon title: • Who thought it would be the sub-title of a win that would put the Steelers in first place at the bye?• Go ahead. Read the end of that sentence again. I’ll wait.• Savor, baby. Savor.• Yes, the Steelers are 6-2, in first place, will be in first place through next Sunday. But there’s more.• They have an offense. They have a quarterback. They have a legitimate deep threat. They have running backs and tight ends. They have patched together an offensive line out of youngsters. They may even have a No. 2 wide receiver.• When the Giants’ Darius Slayton struggled to get up after one of his four catches for 108…

The way it usually works is that when a savvy veteran quarterback like Aaron Rodgers sees a rookie cornerback in the opponent’s secondary he is drawn to him the way a moth is drawn to a flame. But on Oct. 20 at Acrisure Stadium it was the rookie who burned the savvy veteran. Beanie Bishop finished with 6 tackles, including 1 for loss, plus 2 interceptions to contribute significantly to the Steelers 37-15 victory over the New York Jets. Bishop’s first interception came with 1:15 left in the first half, and set the stage for a 4-play, 54-yard touchdown drive that cut the Steelers deficit to 15-13 at halftime. Bishop then returned his second interception 41 yards to the Jets’ 1-yard line to set up an easy touchdown midway through…

Steelers.com The hurricanes that have ravaged areas of the United States in recent weeks have caught the attention of many as they left a path of devastation and dead in their wake. They also dredged up some childhood memories for Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. When Hurricane Irene struck the coast of New Jersey in Aug. 2011, Fitzpatrick was preparing for his freshman year at St. Peters Prep in nearby Jersey City. The Fitzpatrick family home, along with many others situated not far from Raritan Bay on the border of New Jersey and New York was one of many that suffered considerable damage from the storm. It was a lot for a 14-year-old to comprehend. A little over a decade later, Fitzpatrick still knows the troubles those families dealing with losing…

‘There are times when everything comes together. When a group of young men become a special team. Not only winning, but being the best. That happened in Pittsburgh. It was a glorious time.’ - Dan Rooney Sr. on the 70s Steelers That quote by late Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney summed up best what the 1970s Steelers were all about. It was a ‘glorious time’ for those wearing black and gold, and it was a time that began 50 years ago, when the 1974 season turned into a dream year for a team that had been searching for success for decades. It was 50 years ago that the Steelers won their first Super Bowl, defeating the Minnesota Vikings, 16-6, in Super Bowl IX. And this season, the Steelers are celebrating the…

Digest Correspondent They were jaggin’, so it had to be a Pittsburgh locker room. Steelers nickel back Beanie Bishop, an undrafted rookie from WVU, intercepted two Aaron Rodgers’ passes, one that turned the game around and another that virtually sealed it. So Beanie’s veteran teammates wanted to know what the kid had for breakfast. “Saucy Nugs at Wendy’s,” he said with an earnestness that belied his teammates’ jaggin’. The guys couldn’t help but laugh, but they got a little saucy themselves. With smiles plastered after the 37-15 win, they wanted to know why young Beanie didn’t score after his second interception. He returned it to the New York 1-yard line. “Were you trying to high-step into the end zone?” asked DeShon Elliott. “You’re not Deion Sanders. Get in the end…

“T.J.’s not only talented, he’s driven. His work ethic and approach to the game, his intellect, all of those things match his talent.”—Coach Mike Tomlin For Coach Mike Tomlin, it all came into focus the first time he met T.J. Watt. “It goes back to when we were having dinner in Madison, Wisconsin, the night before his Pro Day, to be honest with you. His spirit was evident. He was annoyed by the meal. He wasn’t interested in doing a whole bunch of chit-chat. He wanted to talk football. He wanted to hear about guys like James Harrison and their rush moves. Just the nature of the conversation, his lack of patience for chit-chat and get-to-know was really kind of a telling evening, but an exciting one. I go to…