First Call: Steelers veteran says ‘we sure can’t lose’ to another 2-win team; Patriots’ top RB out multiple weeks
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In Wednesday’s “First Call,” a Pittsburgh Steelers veteran is drawing a line in the sand in advance of the team’s game against New England on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Patriots will have to get over the loss of an important contributor to their already anemic offense.
An upcoming opponent for the Penguins just went through a historic run. And we look at the local college basketball scene.
No mistaking that
There is no room for interpretation as to what Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson had to say about the prospect of the team losing to a second straight last-place opponent.
After dropping a ghastly 24-10 decision to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Peterson and his Steelers teammates face the New England Patriots on Thursday. The Cardinals only had two wins coming into the game. Now the Steelers (7-5) are preparing to play the 2-10 New England Patriots on Thursday night.
And Peterson is laying down the expectations for the result.
“Good ballclubs, you don’t lose two in a row. And we damn sure can’t lose to two, two-win teams,” Peterson said during his weekly podcast (“All Things Covered”) with former Steelers corner Bryant McFadden. “There’s no more time to be wasted. … The margin of error is very small. If we have the desire to be what we envision ourselves being, we gotta create and grow a killer instinct.”
That was something clearly absent from the Steelers’ last effort vs Arizona.
To Peterson’s greater point, though, the Steelers haven’t lost consecutive games this season. The last time they lost back-to-back contests was in Games 8 and 9 of last year when they fell in Miami (16-10) and Philadelphia (35-13) before the bye.
No runnin’ for Rhamondre
The Steelers won’t have to deal with Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson. New England’s leading rusher won’t be playing at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday.
Stevenson will miss at least the Steelers game and perhaps a few more, according to ESPN.com. The 25-year-old suffered a high ankle sprain Sunday versus the Los Angeles Chargers. Stevenson twisted his ankle when he was tackled in the first quarter. The play resulted in a fumble. Stevenson had to be helped off the field and did not return.
Ezekiel Elliott, Ty Montgomery and JaMychal Hasty are coach Bill Belichick’s other options at running back. Elliott rushed for 52 yards on 17 carries vs. L.A. after Stevenson limped off Sunday.
Last year, Stevenson had 47 yards on nine carries against the Steelers in a 17-14 New England win. He has 619 yards and four touchdowns this year.
More sports
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• Pirates slip to No. 9 in MLB Draft lottery, marking 5th consecutive year with top-10 pick
• Najee Harris added to Steelers’ injury report; Elandon Roberts, Isaac Seumalo limited
• Steelers call for ‘Blackout’ at Acrisure vs. Patriots; team to don Color Rush uniforms
Say that again?
The Penguins have a few games to play in Florida before they return home to PPG Paints Arena. They are in Tampa on Wednesday night to visit the Lightning, then Miami on Friday to play the Panthers.
On Tuesday, they are back in Pittsburgh to host the normally downtrodden Arizona Coyotes. But the Yotes are 13-9-2. That’s good for the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference at 28 points. The Penguins only have 25.
Not only that, but the Coyotes have won five in a row, and all five wins have come against the five most recent Stanley Cup Champions: Vegas, Tampa Bay, Colorado, St. Louis and Washington.
According to Sportradar, no team had ever won consecutive games against the last five teams to win the Stanley Cup (with repeat winners not counted twice).
West Mifflin’s Logan Cooley scored a goal in Arizona’s most recent win, a 6-0 shutout of Washington on Monday.
COOLEY'S FIRST GOAL AT THE MULLETT!
This one's for you, Pack ???? https://t.co/GCdhzdVPp3 pic.twitter.com/TCzAq9SJnm
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 5, 2023
Cooley has three goals and 14 points in 24 games so far in his rookie season.
Busy night
There is plenty going on when it comes to local college basketball Wednesday night. All three local teams are in action on the men’s side of the ledger.
The Pitt Panthers play the West Virginia Mountaineers in the basketball Backyard Brawl. The game is in Morgantown at 9 p.m. The Panthers are favored by 3.5 points via ESPN BET.
The Panthers are coming off a 79-70 loss to Clemson. They were roasted by Syracuse transfer Joe Girard, who had 25 points. Now they have to face another former Orange star, Jesse Edwards, who is averaging 15.7 points, 10 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for the Mountaineers.
WVU is coming off a 79-73 loss to St. John’s and is 3-4 on the year. The Panthers are 5-3, looking to snap a two-game losing streak (Clemson and Missouri).
As for Duquesne, the Dukes are in the state of West Virginia as well. They are visiting Marshall at 7 p.m. Keith Dambrot’s team has won five of seven so far this season. The Thundering Herd is 2-5 but beat the Dukes 82-71 in Pittsburgh last year.
Meanwhile, Robert Morris (2-6) visits Canisius (5-4). The Colonials are looking for a win out of conference after dropping their first two Horizon League games to Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky. RMU is hunting for its first road win after four defeats away from Moon Township this season.
Fast start
The Duquesne women’s basketball team (4-3) won its first Atlantic 10 game of the year in overtime. They beat Fordham (5-4) at the UPMC Cooper Field House 75-73.
Nae Bernard led the way with 17 points and six assists for the Dukes. North Catholic’s Tess Myers drained three three-pointers en route to 13 points as well.
It's raining ???? in the 412 #GoDukes // @tessmyers24 pic.twitter.com/ehANrsRpdm
— Duquesne Women's Basketball (@DuqWBB) December 6, 2023
Duquesne entered the fourth quarter with a 53-37 advantage, thanks to a 29-14 burst in the third quarter. But the Rams rallied back with a 28-12 response in the fourth to force OT.
Fordham was paced by Taylor Donaldson, who had 25 points and eight rebounds.