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Steelers

With Pickett, there’s a chance

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is leaving the door “ajar” for Kenny Pickett to play on Thursday when Tennessee visits Acrisure Stadium. Pickett left Sunday’s 20-10 loss to Jacksonville late in the second quarter with a rib injury. He warmed up briefly at the end of halftime but did not take the field again. Backup Mitch Trubisky played the entirety of the second half as Pittsburgh fell to 4-3. Tomlin said Pickett will try to practice at least once before facing the Titans (3-4). “I need to see physical preparation in order to consider him, ...

Tomlin: Play better and bad calls won’t matter

By Will Graves The Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin understands and likely shares (on some unspoken level anyway) wide receiver Diontae Johnson’s problems with the officiating during Pittsburgh’s unwieldy 20-10 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday. Yet the longtime Steelers coach isn’t about to blame another three-plus hours of erratic play on the officials. The way Tomlin figures it, there’s one sure way to make them irrelevant: play better. “It is our desire to win definitively where potentially controversial calls are less significant,” Tomlin said. ...

Panel says Reid still tops in the league

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press Andy Reid just eeps winning. Reid again was a near-unanimous choice by The Associated Press for the top spot among NFL head coaches, receiving eight of nine first-place votes. A panel of nine AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five head coaches, making their selections based on current status through Week 8. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points. Reid also received eight of nine first-place votes in the preseason poll. Six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick again got ...

Punchless Steelers beaten by Jags; QB Pickett injured

By Will Graves The Associated Press PITTSBURGH — The Jacksonville Jaguars believe they can take their brand of football anywhere. Regardless of the continent. Regardless of the weather. Regardless of the opponent. Their play is backing it up. The franchise-wide makeover sparked by ...

Steelers’ Johnson rips refs

By Dan Scifo The Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Steelers wide reciever Diontae Johnson called for the referees to be fined following Pittsburgh’s 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, a defeat in which quarterback Kenny Pickett left with a rib injury following a big hit. “They were calling some stupid stuff,” Johnson said. “They should get fined for making terrible calls. That’s how (mad) I am because they cost us the game. I don’t care what nobody says, they cost us the game. “(The referees) must’ve got paid good today or something,” he added. ...

Winning at Pittsburgh could make Jags legit

By Will Graves The Associated Press PITTSBURGH — It took less than a season for Doug Pederson to turn chaos into cohesion in Jacksonville. Nearing the midway point of his second year with the Jaguars, the moribund franchise Pederson took over is showing the hallmarks of being a ...