First Call: Steelers’ next opponent grabs victory; entire AFC North wins; wild win for Josh Dobbs with new team
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While the Pittsburgh Steelers had Sunday to rest, it was a successful day for everyone else in the AFC North. Next week’s opponent at Acrisure Stadium chalked up a victory too, as did a former quarterback who used to wear the Black and Gold.
But one former Steelers receiver found the sledding a bit more difficult.
All of that is coming your way in Monday’s “First Call.”
Nice day for the North
While the Steelers were idle after their Thursday night win over the Tennessee Titans, the rest of the AFC North went 3-0.
The Cleveland Browns shut out the Arizona Cardinals 27-0. The Baltimore Ravens blew out the Seattle Seahawks 37-3. And the Cincinnati Bengals held off the Buffalo Bills 24-18.
Baltimore still leads the division with a 7-2 record. The other three teams are 5-3. The Steelers are the only one of those three teams with a better than .500 record (2-0) in the division right now, though. That will be put to the test at the end of the month when the club goes on the road in back-to-back weeks at Cleveland (Nov. 19) and Cincinnati (Nov. 26).
At roughly the halfway point of the season, with each of the franchises having played at least eight of their 17 games, all four AFC North teams are currently in a playoff spot. As of Monday morning, the Ravens hold the AFC’s second seed. The Steelers are the top wild-card team in the fifth slot, followed by Cleveland and Cincy in the other two wild-card positions.
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Peaking at the Pack
The Steelers’ next opponent is the Green Bay Packers (3-5). They won a 20-3 contest at home Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Spotty weather and a backup quarterback (Brett Rypien) limited the damage that L.A. could do. The Packers secondary contained Rams receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua to a combined 80 yards receiving.
As for Green Bay on offense, the unit’s early-game ineptitude has been almost as bad as the Steelers’ lately. When running back Aaron Jones scored early in the second quarter, it was the first Green Bay touchdown in the first half of a game since a Sept. 17 loss in Atlanta.
.@Showtyme_33 takes it in for the score!
TOUCHDOWN ????#LARvsGB | #GoPackGo
????: FOX pic.twitter.com/Jwat4Qj3NY
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 5, 2023
Quarterback Jordan Love was efficient and didn’t make any big mistakes for the Pack. He was 20 of 26 for 228 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. That’s good for a passer rating of 115.5.
Green Bay visits Acrisure Stadium for a 1 p.m. start Sunday. The Packers are 1-3 away from Lambeau Field this season. Caesars lists the Steelers as three-point favorites.
Dobbs keeps doing it
Josh Dobbs keeps surfacing in new places. In his first game as a Minnesota Viking, he spun quite a story.
The former Steelers quarterback was just acquired Tuesday from the Arizona Cardinals by the Vikings after they lost starting QB Kirk Cousins to an Achilles tendon injury. Rookie Jaren Hill was the Minnesota starter Sunday in Atlanta, with Dobbs as the backup.
But Hall suffered a first-quarter concussion and had to leave the game. So, with no practice reps in Minnesota under his belt, Dobbs had to enter the game as the offense’s leader, and the team ended up winning 31-28.
Dobbs tossed a 6-yard touchdown to Brandon Powell with 22 seconds remaining. It capped an 11-play, 75-yard game-winning drive sparked by the QB’s impressive 22-yard scramble to convert a fourth-and-7.
JOSH DOBBS KEEPS THE VIKINGS HOPES ALIVE!
????: #MINvsATL on FOX
????: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/d4RDZpcMkc pic.twitter.com/St618kyNtA— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2023
Dobbs ended the afternoon 20 of 30 for 158 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and three sacks. The Vikings are now 5-4 and in the NFC’s final wild-card slot. The Falcons fell to 4-5.
JuJu’s boo-boo
Meanwhile, JuJu Smith-Schuster had a rougher time in New England. The former Steelers wide receiver was the center of a game-ending play that went badly for the Patriots against the Washington Commanders.
A late fourth-quarter pass from quarterback Mac Jones bounced off of Smith-Schuster’s hands and ended up becoming an interception as the Pats were driving into field goal range.
COMMANDERS SECURE THE W. #HTTC pic.twitter.com/VZ60rjRlUj
— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2023
New England wound up losing to Washington 20-17. After the game, Smith-Schuster took the blame.
JuJu Smith-Schuster: Final INT is on me. pic.twitter.com/uRfRCE5E8m
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 5, 2023
Smith-Schuster caught the other six targets that came his way to the tune of 51 yards. New England is now 2-7. That’s the worst record in the AFC. The Commanders improved to 4-5.