First Call: Najee Harris says Steelers need more discipline; Gene Steratore has mixed reviews of officiating in loss to Bills

Tuesday’s “First Call” has some interesting comments from Najee Harris in the wake of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss in Buffalo. CBS officiating expert Gene Steratore weighs in on some controversial calls during the game. Bills fans are already gearing up for a potential Taylor Swift visit next week.

And the Duquesne Dukes are once again getting ready to entertain one of the best from the Atlantic 10 on Tuesday night.

What Najee knows

Steelers running back Najee Harris had some eyebrow-raising comments after the Steelers lost their playoff game in Buffalo.

“If we want to elevate and achieve those goals that we want, we have to change some in-house stuff,” Harris said via ESPN.com.

Harris elaborated on what he meant by “in-house stuff” that needs to be changed.

“It’s just the rules that are in the building,” Harris said. “We’ve got to be more disciplined. We’ve got to be more committed. I’m not saying that we’re not, but just coming from a place that has structure and just seeing we probably could get help in these areas. It might make a change. I think that that’s something we could help. I’m not saying nothing about coaches or anything like that. I’m just saying more of just in-house rules.

“I’m just a player, but the guys in that building know what I’m talking about.”

The question then becomes, if Harris is saying the team needs more structure and different in-house rules, it’s the coaches that set the rules and lay out the structure for the team, right?

So, I appreciate where Harris is coming from in the sense that he doesn’t want to make it look like he’s throwing the coach under the bus when he says it’s “not about the coaches.” However, the coaches are the ones who are empowered to set the discipline and the parameters of day-to-day operations.

If Harris is saying the players need to run their own locker room or meeting rooms better, OK. Then, take that talk and turn it into action next spring.

But if this is a concern of Harris’, it sounds like one that the coaches need to address as well, regardless of whether or not Harris is affixing blame to them in his quote.

Welcome to town

Bills fans are already ramping up to “welcome” Taylor Swift to Buffalo.

As soon as the Steelers were eliminated in Buffalo, that meant the city was in line to host Travis Kelce and the Chiefs in the AFC’s divisional round next Sunday. Where Kelce goes, Swift often joins him.

And the Bills mafia is already taking to social media in anticipation of Swift’s potential visit. BillsWire.com curated some posts.

Taylor Swift checking into the nicest hotel in Buffalo next week pic.twitter.com/jHi9xNiGT1

— Jarvis (@jarvis_best) January 15, 2024

The view I need Taylor Swift to have next week. pic.twitter.com/6sGthLwi2F

— Greg Vorse (@GregVorse) January 16, 2024

If Taylor Swift needs fashion inspo for Buffalo... pic.twitter.com/6377sZ1y0n

— Meghan Chayka (@MeghanChayka) January 15, 2024

i bet taylor swift is gonna come to Buffalo and dip her wings in ranch

— andrea (@heyitsandreah) January 16, 2024

Taylor Swift is about to have her biggest event in Buffalo since her 2007 show at the Erie County Fair

— Buffalo Eats (@BuffaloEats) January 16, 2024

I’m sure things will ramp up as the week goes along. If a tailgate party can film Taylor Swift jumping through a flaming table in a parking lot while eating beef on weck, the internet might melt.

Zebra talk

CBS NFL officiating guru Gene Steratore joined “The ‘DVE Morning Show” for his weekly appearance Tuesday. He gave his opinions on a number of controversial plays from the Steelers-Bills game.

• Steratore stood by the opinion he gave during the broadcast that the officials properly kept their flags in their pockets on what many folks in Pittsburgh (including myself) thought should have been a defensive hold or a pass interference penalty on Pitt product Dane Jackson. He appeared to hook George Pickens on an important fourth-down incompletion from Mason Rudolph. But Steratore said, “There was not enough material effect on the play” to draw a penalty.

• Steratore understood where the officials were coming from when they flagged Myles Jack for a late hit on a sliding Josh Allen during a second-half touchdown drive. But he called it “ticky-tacky,” and he said the competition committee needs to talk about the sliding quarterback debate.

• On Allen’s 52-yard touchdown run, Steratore said there was probably enough to call a hold on Buffalo’s O’Cyrus Torrence for restricting Steelers safety Eric Rowe.

• Steratore stopped short of saying Allen was guilty of a fake slide, but again, he suggested that is something the competition committee should look at more closely this offseason.

• On Pat Freiermuth’s first-half fumble on the sideline, Steratore said he watched the play “25 times” and couldn’t see the loose ball hit Freiermuth’s helmet or facemask while he was lying out of bounds to kill the play before Buffalo recovered the ball.

More sports

• Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin's abrupt press conference exit felt calculated. So what's he calculating?
• Airing of Grievances: Predictable problems end Steelers' season without a playoff win yet again
• Steelers’ George Pickens: ‘Not gonna win a game when you have to play the refs and the Buffalo Bills’

Coming and going

The Duquesne Dukes just played an opponent who was given honors as Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. Now, they are about to face the other guy who split the award.

The A-10 Conference named Dayton junior DaRon Holmes II and Richmond graduate student Jordan King as its men’s basketball Co-Players of the Week for games played Jan. 8-14.

Holmes stood out during the Flyers’ 72-62 win over the Dukes on Friday night. He had 33 points and 12 rebounds at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

Now, King and the Spiders are in town Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. tip. The former Sienna and ETSU transfer posted 31 points versus George Mason in a 77-70 victory Saturday.

Between that game and a 58-56 win over Loyola Chicago, King averaged 23.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals while shooting 57.1% (16-for-28) from the field and a ridiculous 78.6% (11-for-14) from 3-point range.