Kevin Gorman Columns category, Page 7

The Baltimore Ravens are the best team in the NFL’s worst division. Mostly by default. Seriously, the AFC North stinks something awful. That the Ravens needed overtime to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were down to playing an undrafted rookie quarterback from an FCS program, shows the depths to which...

Devlin Hodges had dreamed of playing quarterback in the NFL since he was a kid and defied all odds to become the backup for the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent rookie. His dream came true only after a nightmarish scenario as Mason Rudolph was knocked out cold when...

James Washington recognized the look on Mason Rudolph’s face on “Monday Night Football,” when he saw the sly smile and electric eyes after a 43-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson. Washington has been on the receiving end of passes — and that look — from Rudolph at Oklahoma State and...

The exclamations of exasperation from Evgeni Malkin tend to come when the Pittsburgh Penguins need to hear it the most — during a midseason slump or on the brink of postseason elimination. That Malkin was miffed after the season opener should have the Penguins worried. Actually, the way they played...

The Pittsburgh Penguins are two years removed from winning the Stanley Cup title, two weeks shy of six months since being swept in the first round of the playoffs. By a team that was swept in the second round. By a team that was swept in the third round. By...

Neither Mark Barron nor Devin Bush has ever played against Lamar Jackson, so the Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebackers can only go by what they have watched on film. Barron and Bush are impressed by the Baltimore Ravens second-year quarterback, who has evolved into the NFL’s most dangerous dual-threat playmaker. “It’s...

Where the wildcat formation was the talk of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, Mike Tomlin is focused on his defense. The Steelers hit Andy Dalton a dozen times, including eight sacks, in putting on their best defensive performance of the season in the...

Just when it looked like the Baltimore Ravens were about to run away with the AFC North, they ran into the Cleveland Browns. Or, should we say, they were run over by the Browns. Nick Chubb broke the game open with an 88-yard touchdown run — the longest in Cleveland...

The Cincinnati Bengals were stacking the box against Mason Rudolph, daring the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback to beat them on Monday Night Football in his first start at Heinz Field. That’s when the Steelers revealed a new wrinkle to their offense, a package that initially appeared to be born out of...

Mason Rudolph’s stat line in his first start for the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field was pretty impressive. The second-year quarterback completed 24 of 28 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals, faring better than Ben Roethlisberger did by going 17 of 25 for 174 yards...

In an awkward attempt to avoid serving up a scapegoat for this colossal disaster of a season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, general manager Neal Huntington called it a “collective shortcoming.” Call it whatever you want. Pirates chairman Bob Nutting fired one man, Clint Hurdle. Perhaps it’s the first of many....

Nick Patti had a hunch all week he could be playing quarterback for Pitt on Saturday, but it wasn’t until 45 minutes before kickoff that he learned he would make his starting debut. With Kenny Pickett sidelined by a right shoulder injury that didn’t cooperate during warm-ups, the Panthers didn’t...

Maurkice Pouncey wiped a towel down his face and across the back of his neck while being asked about what the Pittsburgh Steelers have to do to establish a running game. The All-Pro center wiped his face again, shook his head and let out a little laugh in exasperation inside...

Joe Haden gets up for going against the NFL’s best wide receivers, so the Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback always looked forward to facing Cincinnati Bengals star A.J. Green. “I feel like he was one of the top-5 receivers in the league since he came in,” said Haden, who spent his first...

Mike Tomlin issued a declaration Wednesday that was a bit of bravado tinged with a touch of truth, one that perfectly captured what is wrong with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Football is our game. Our business is winning,” Tomlin said at his weekly news conference. “So, we haven’t been handling business.”...

With Vance McDonald walking around Pittsburgh Steelers headquarters wearing a sling, the Pittsburgh Steelers are in next-man-up mode at one of the team’s thinnest positions. That the next tight end up is Xavier Grimble has to be a concern, considering he’s remembered more for the touchdown he didn’t score than...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Mason Rudolph took this loss on his shoulders, despite throwing two second-half touchdowns and giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a fourth-quarter lead. The Steelers’ 24-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium was as much about their struggles at the start as...

SANTA CLARA, Calif. The story of this game wasn’t so much about the transition from Ben Roethlisberger to Mason Rudolph for the Pittsburgh Steelers as it was the turnovers. Mostly, it was about what the San Francisco 49ers did with the two they forced. And what the Steelers failed to...

When Ben Roethlisberger left Sunday’s game against Seattle with an elbow injury, Randy Fichtner didn’t blink. The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator immediately turned to Mason Rudolph and asked the backup quarterback for his favorite plays so he knew what to call in the second half. Never mind that Rudolph never...

Right before Minkah Fitzpatrick’s first practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers, strong safety Terrell Edmunds looked at his new teammate and offered a not-so-necessary reminder. “ ‘T’ looked at me and said, ‘Make sure we talk. Make sure we communicate,’ ” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s really important at safety to communicate, make...

Not long ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers trading a future first-round draft pick for a free safety on the same day they lost their franchise quarterback to season-ending surgery would have seemed like a case of misplaced priorities. Seriously, who would have ever imagined the day would come when the Steelers...