First Call: Steelers hope to continue minimizing opponents' top threats; John Harbaugh says Ravens 'outplayed' in loss

In Friday’s “First Call,” the Pittsburgh Steelers know where to focus their defensive attention when the Detroit Lions come to town Sunday afternoon.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh is upset with someone very specific in the wake of his team’s loss in Miami on Thursday night.

The Penguins’ next opponent is struggling. And a pair of former Penguins had some highlight moments Thursday night.

Identify the problem

The 2021 Steelers have excelled at minimizing the impact of the opposing team’s star offensive weapons.

The likes of Nick Chubb, Darren Waller, Stefon Diggs, D.K. Metcalf, Davante Adams and David Montgomery have all been relatively contained, compared to their usual standards, when playing the Steelers this season.

This week, Mike Tomlin seemed to identify Detroit tight end T.J. Hockenson as the main target for Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

“Hockenson is a high-volume catch guy who really is productive in the interior portions of the field,” Tomlin said. “Their play pass game with him as a focal point is dangerous, particularly because they’ve had some turnover at the wide receiver position. They lost Kenny Golladay in free agency. [Quintez] Cephus is injured. So there have been some changing parts there, some emerging guys there. I think T.J. at the tight end position and (D’Andre) Swift at the running back position have been quality security blankets for Goff. He’s utilizing them to stay on schedule and keep the dogs off them.”

Hockenson leads the Lions in catches (48), yards (448) and targets (64).

Perhaps because they were dedicating so much time and energy toward minimizing Montgomery and wide receiver Darnell Mooney, the Bears were able to get good production out of their tight ends at Heinz Field on Monday night.

Cole Kmet had six catches for 87 yards. Jimmy Graham caught a 28-yard pass to set up a Bears score in the second half.

Up next

After their 3-2 win against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, the Penguins head to Ottawa to play the Senators on Saturday night.

Ottawa suffered a 2-0 shutout loss at home against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Former Penguins product Filip Gustavsson made 32 saves for Ottawa in defeat. The Senators have lost six in a row.

Ottawa (3-9-1) played the game with nine players in covid-19 protocol, including former Penguins goaltender Matt Murray.

The Senators only have seven points, the lowest total in the Eastern Conference.

Harsh Harbaugh

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh put the blame where it belonged after a surprising 22-10 loss to Miami on Thursday night.

On himself.

“Outcoached us, outplayed us, and won the football game. So, the bottom line is this falls squarely on me as the head coach,” Harbaugh said via ProFootballTalk.com. “We were not prepared the way we need to be prepared. Our schemes weren’t up to snuff. And we weren’t prepared to execute the way we needed to. … (The players) did everything we could to be prepared, and just weren’t ready. That’s on me.”

Baltimore is now 6-3 on the year, still atop the AFC North. The Steelers are in second place at 5-3, followed by the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, both at 5-4.

Checking up

Spinning around the NHL, a pair of ex-Penguins got on the score sheet.

Jared McCann scored a pair of goals for the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

Canners first game back in action & he redirects one into the net! ???? pic.twitter.com/pyh759m6aJ

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 12, 2021

Jared McCann pulls the Kraken back within one #SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/j60nuBx7o9

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) November 12, 2021

McCann now has five goals on the season. But the Kraken still lost to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 7-4.

Former Pens defenseman Cody Ceci scored as well.

First #Oilers goal for Ceci & it was a biggie in this one. ????#LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/nXfR8sjWxo

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 12, 2021

That was Ceci’s first goal as an Edmonton Oiler. That was the final goal of the night as the Oilers beat the Boston Bruins 5-3.