First Call: Steelers’ upset losses result in historically bad stat; ex-ref disagrees with Christian Kuntz penalty
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Friday’s “First Call” puts the Pittsburgh Steelers’ egregious losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots into a historical context.
At least one former NFL official thinks the Steelers got jobbed on the Christian Kuntz call Thursday night. The rest of the teams in the AFC playoff picture will try to take advantage of the Steelers’ misfortune.
The Penguins will be part of honoring a former fan favorite at an ironic time. And we look at the local scene for college basketball and hockey.
Playing down to the competition
If you feel like you’ve never seen anything like the Steelers’ back-to-back losses against Arizona and New England over these last two games, you are right.
It has literally never happened in the history of the NFL.
As ESPN points out on social media, by losing to the Patriots and Cardinals — both of whom were 2-10 coming into their dates at Acrisure Stadium — the Steelers became the first team over .500 (now 7-6) to lose back-to-back games to teams 8-plus games under .500.
Steelers become the first team over .500 to lose back-to-back games to teams 8+ games under .500 in NFL history ???? pic.twitter.com/xjT9sRZbai
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 8, 2023
To be fair, the Steelers did have a horrible call go against them in the game when long-snapper Christian Kuntz was hit with a fourth-quarter false start penalty that caused the Patriots to jump offside. Initially, it looked like the Patriots were at fault, and the Steelers were about to get a fresh set of downs. However, the refs flagged Kuntz, and the Steelers had to punt from five yards further back.
That was the wrong call, according to former official Terry McAulay on the Amazon Prime broadcast.
“That looks like the normal movement you see from a long snapper,” McAulay said. “They’re saying that he made a quick and abrupt movement prior to the snap. I don’t see this as quick and abrupt.”
After the penalty, Pressley Harvin punted and downed the Patriots at the 14-yard line. Not a bad result on its own. But it’s much worse than extending the offensive possession while down 21-18 in the final minutes of the game.
While they are off
After the Steelers’ loss Thursday night, they now have the weekend off to see what else happens in the AFC North and around the conference. Two games of note feature divisional foes against playoff contenders from the AFC South.
The Cleveland Browns (7-5) are three-point favorites at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4). Jacksonville currently sits in first place atop the South, good for fourth in the AFC. As of now, the Browns have the fifth seed as the first wild card. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was a limited participant in practice Thursday. He suffered an ankle injury during Monday night’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
As for the Bengals, they play the Indianapolis Colts in the other North-South matchup. The Bengals got back up to .500 at 6-6 with their win in Jacksonville. But they are still in last place of the division. The Colts hold second place in the South at 7-5. That’s good enough to be in the second wild-card slot entering the weekend.
The North Division-leading Baltimore Ravens (9-4) welcome the Los Angeles Rams for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Ravens are coming off a bye. The Rams have won three in a row. Baltimore is favored by 7.5 points.
Related:
• Airing of Grievances: Impotent offense, disappointing defense, scattered coaching as Steelers gag against Patriots
• Steelers suffer 2nd straight embarrassing home loss, falling to last-place Patriots
• ‘I feel like I let the guys down:’ Mitch Trubisky struggles in 1st start in a year for Steelers
Friday in Florida
The Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Florida Panthers Friday night. Former Penguin and Panther Patric Hornqvist is being recognized before the game to honor his retirement.
Hornqvist won two Stanley Cups with the Pens in 2016 and 2017 and scored 132 goals over six seasons in Pittsburgh. He last wore Black and Gold in 2020.
Ironically, I believe that’s the last time the Penguins scored a power-play goal.
The Penguins are now 0 for 33 on the power play, dating back to Nov. 11. The Penguins rank 31st in power-play efficiency this season at 9.9%. They sure could use Hornqvist, or someone like him, in front of the net these days.
Hornqvist scored 26 goals in three years with the Panthers. They currently have 32 points, second best in the Atlantic. The Penguins, with just 25 points, are only four points clear of the Columbus Blue Jackets, last place in the Metropolitan Division.
What lies ahead
Two of the three local men’s college basketball teams are in action at home this weekend.
Duquesne plays Saint Peters Friday night (9 p.m.). The Dukes come in at 6-2, having won their last two games against UC Irvine and Marshall. That win against the Thundering Herd in Huntington on Wednesday featured 30 made free throws on 41 attempts. Jimmy Clark III led the way with 24 points. The Peacocks come in with a two-game win streak of their own thanks to road victories at Niagara and Canisius.
Speaking of Canisius (6-4), that’s who is in town on Saturday (6 p.m.) to play the Pitt Panthers (6-3). Jeff Capel’s team is fresh off an 80-63 beat down of the West Virginia Mountaineers Wednesday. The teams last played in December 2019, with Pitt winning 87-79. Justin Champagnie had 21 points. That was the first-ever meeting between the schools.
Robert Morris (2-7) is off until a Monday home game against Delaware (6-3). RMU is looking to snap a losing streak of three games.
Breakthrough
The Robert Morris men’s hockey team finally got some of the goal-scoring they have been lacking. They won a home game against Niagara Thursday night, 4-1.
That was RMU’s first regulation win since Oct. 27. They have now improved to 3-11-3. Jackson Reineke scored twice for the Colonials, and captain Rylee St. Onge scored his first goal since transferring from Mercyhurst.
GOAL! ????
P2 (2:56): Niagara 0 RMU 2@ryleest_onge DOES IT! His first Colonial goal extends our lead ????#BobbyMo #AHA20 pic.twitter.com/j2oFpHpeXH
— RMU Men’s Hockey (@RMUMHockey) December 8, 2023
The Colonials and Purple Eagles rematch at Niagara on Saturday. The women’s team is off until the “Battle of the ‘Burgh” featuring Bemidji, Colgate and Maine on Dec. 29-30.