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First Call: Steelers could face familiar foe vs. Browns; celebrating Sidney Crosby anniversary; James Conner keeps scoring | TribLIVE.com
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First Call: Steelers could face familiar foe vs. Browns; celebrating Sidney Crosby anniversary; James Conner keeps scoring

Tim Benz
Tim Benz

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The Steelers’ Joe Haden defends on a pass for the Browns’ Jarvis Landry in the third quarter in 2018 at Heinz Field.

Friday’s “First Call” tells us that the Steelers better be prepared for a familiar foe when they visit the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Another Browns player is already planning his post-touchdown celebration. We recognize a Sidney Crosby memory. And a former Steeler keeps ringing up points on the scoreboard.

Ready to roll

It looks like Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry will try to play against the Steelers on Sunday.

And he says Sunday’s contest is a “must win.”

The Steelers are 3-3, the Browns are 4-3, and the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals are both 5-2. So you could make that “must win” argument for both teams — although the calendar still shows 10 games remaining for the Steelers after this one.

Landry had five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown in Cleveland’s playoff game win at Heinz Field last year. A previous knee sprain sidelined Landry for four games earlier this season.

Planning ahead

Browns running back D’Ernest Johnson says he has a touchdown celebration ready if he scores this weekend.

Or perhaps any time moving forward.

During last Thursday night’s win over the Denver Broncos, Johnson starred as a replacement for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. He totaled 22 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown. But he failed to have much of a celebration after the score.

Johnson was a fisherman to make ends meet after he went undrafted in 2018. And he says that story may be incorporated into his routine after his next score.

That could be funny.

I’m sure Steelers fans would prefer to see it next week against Cincinnati instead. But that could still be funny.

Happy SIDaversary

Thursday evening, Sportsnet sent out a tweet commemorating the anniversary of Sidney Crosby’s first hat trick.

It was 15 years ago against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Crosby has 11 hat tricks in his career. Many hoped Crosby would play his first game of 2021 Thursday night against the Calgary Flames. He did not. The Penguins lost 4-0.

Crosby has three more chances to debut at PPG Paints arena over the next week. The Penguins play Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils, Thursday versus the Philadelphia Flyers and next Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.

Racking up the points

Former Steelers running back James Conner has become quite a red zone threat for the Arizona Cardinals.

The former Pitt product scored twice for the Cardinals during a 24-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

Conner only had 22 yards Thursday, and his season-high for yards in a game is just 71. But he’s already up to eight rushing touchdowns.

Conner’s personal best for rushing touchdowns in a season was 12 in 2018 with the Steelers.

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.

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