Development
SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTERS
ADVERTISE| CLASSIFIEDS| JOBS| E-TRIB
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS NETWORK TRIBLIVE LOCAL
Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source
First Call: Commanders lament pivotal plays against Steelers; Kenny Pickett enters game for Eagles | TribLIVE.com
Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
NHL

First Call: Commanders lament pivotal plays against Steelers; Kenny Pickett enters game for Eagles

Tim Benz
Tim Benz

Sponsored by:

Mike's Beer Bar
7925522_web1_ptr-SteelersCam06-111124
Chaz Palla | TribLive
Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson celebrates Sunday after the Commanders’ Jer’Zhan Newton went offsides to give the Steelers a first down to end the game at Northwest Stadium.

A pair of Washington Commanders are facing the music after some plays didn’t go their way in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Kenny Pickett closes out a win for the Eagles. Things aren’t too great in Dallas with the way the Cowboys are playing lately.

Meanwhile, Dallas’ hockey team is in Pittsburgh to battle the Penguins.

All that and more in Monday’s “First Call.”

Newton knows

The play that decided the Steelers’ 28-27 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday was when defensive lineman Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton jumped offside on a fourth down to extend the Steelers’ drive with a little more than a minute left.

After the game, the rookie out of Illinois was downcast.

Newton owned his mistake and answered questions from the media, claiming that the locker room supported him.

“My teammates have been great,” Newton said. “It’s a big brotherhood in here. All the coaching staff came up to me and supported me and had my back.” 

Quarterback Jayden Daniels was one of those teammates.

“It’s not all on him, and we’re all together. No matter what people outside the building are saying,” Daniels said via USA Today. “What matters is what’s in the building and how we love each other — how we support each other. We have each other’s backs.”

The Steelers improved to 7-2 with the result. They host the Baltimore Ravens next week. The Commanders are now 7-3 and visit Philadelphia on Thursday night.

How they saw it

In Pittsburgh, we all viewed the go-ahead touchdown connection between Russell Wilson and Mike Williams as a beautiful throw and catch.

The Washington defensive back who was beaten on the play, Benjamin St-Juste, just saw one big mistake.

“Sometimes I get caught up in trying to make the play so much that I try to guard everything. In these situations, you’ve got to pick and choose, and you’ve got to pick the right option,” St-Juste said. “I’ve got to play the fade. That’s what (Williams) is good at. That’s what Russ likes to do.”

That was Williams’ first catch and first target as a Steeler. He was just acquired via trade from the New York Jets on Tuesday.

Back in the saddle

Very little went right for the Dallas Cowboys (3-6) on Sunday. They lost 34-6 to the Philadelphia Eagles.

One positive was that former Penn State star Micah Parsons returned to action for the first time since Sept. 26. He had two sacks and forced a fumble along the way.

He also offered this blunt assessment of the future of head coach Mike McCarthy.

Parsons added whether McCarthy (a Pittsburgh native who was born in Greenfield) will coach the Cowboys next year is “above my paygrade.”

In that blowout, former Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett got into the game. The Philadelphia backup mopped up for Jalen Hurts and completed his first pass as an Eagle. It went for 5 yards to Ainias Smith. He also picked up a rushing yard on a trademarked Philly “Tush Push” conversion.

Pickett also briefly played in a game on Oct. 20 against the New York Giants.

More sports

• Madden Monday: Debating Zach Ertz's catch, Steelers' fake punt, T.J. Watt's holding calls, Jaylen Warren's fumble
• Feats of Strength: George Pickens, Russell Wilson, new additions come up huge as Steelers edge Commanders
• Zach Frazier sold QB sneak, Russell Wilson barks hard count — Steelers seal win on Washington offsides

Star light, star bright

The Penguins are back home Monday night after a three-game road trip through the Metropolitan Division. They beat the Washington Capitals, 4-2, lost 5-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes and fell in a shootout (4-3) to the New York Islanders.

Now they return to PPG Paints Arena to face a team currently in playoff position from the Central Division. The Dallas Stars are in town. They have 16 points. That’s good for third place in the Central.

Dallas has struggled a bit of late, dropping three of four games. To kick off the month, Peter DeBoer’s team was in Finland for two games against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. They lost both of them by scores of 6-4 and 4-2.

After returning home to beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-1, Dallas dropped a 4-1 decision in Winnipeg on Saturday. Dallas and the Vancouver Canucks have played the fewest games in the NHL, with 13 apiece.

The Penguins, at 6-8-2, have played 16 games. The New Jersey Devils (18) are the only club to have played more so far. With 14 points, the Pens are in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. The Stars have only two wins in six true road games this season.

At 2.46 goals against per game, they have the third-best defense in hockey. Their power play isn’t great, though. At 16.3%, it’s 23rd in the NHL.

During Dallas’ last game, former Pens goalie Casey DeSmith replaced Jake Oettinger.

So far this year, DeSmith is 2-2 in five games (four starts) with a goals-against average of just 1.79 (second-best in the NHL).

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Categories: NHL | Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns
Sports and Partner News