First Call: Steelers need to replicate Ravens' work up front against Saints; JuJu Smith-Schuster pacing for payout in K.C.

Tuesday’s “First Call” sets the stage for the Steelers-Saints game after New Orleans looked overmatched against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens have something going for them the rest of the season.

The Duquesne men’s basketball team joins a lot of its local peers by starting the 2022-23 season Tuesday night. And the Dukes football team gets some honors.

Easy street

New Orleans is called The Big Easy. It sure was for the Baltimore Ravens on “Monday Night Football.” They stomped out the Saints on the road 27-13.

The Baltimore defense didn’t allow a touchdown until the fourth quarter. The Saints gained just 243 yards on offense overall. Baltimore held the ball for more than 37 minutes.

The Ravens improved to 6-3 with the win. If that wasn’t easy enough, the ESPN broadcast said during its postgame show that coach John Harbaugh’s crew has the easiest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL. They won’t play another team with a winning record until Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

That includes the 2-6 Steelers twice. The first matchup is Dec. 11 in Pittsburgh; the second game is Jan. 1 in Baltimore.

Something to watch

As for the Saints, they next play in Pittsburgh at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Knowing that T.J. Watt is likely to return Sunday, the Steelers had to be salivating watching the Saints offensive line try to block Baltimore’s defensive front.

Baltimore had four sacks of Saints quarterback Andy Dalton. He was hit three more times beyond that. Plus, the Saints managed a meager 48 yards rushing.

Overall, though, the Saints have allowed a modest 19 sacks. The Steelers have yielded 21. New Orleans averages 23.6 points, 11th best in the NFL. The Steelers are at 15.0, better than only the pathetic Indianapolis Colts offense at 14.7.

New Orleans suffered some injuries, as well.

Saints players who have left with injuries tonight: C Erik McCoy, LB Pete Werner, DE Marcus Davenport -- all doozies.

— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) November 8, 2022

Prior to the Monday night game, the advanced line had the Saints listed as 2.5-point favorites in Pittsburgh at Draft Kings. The over/under was 41.5.

Juice for JuJu

Former Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster had two difficult tours through free-agency. The first one resulted in him coming back to Pittsburgh for the 2021 season.

The second resulted in him going to Kansas City on an incentive-packed, one-year deal with the Chiefs. However, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, it looks like Smith-Schuster is going to hit those incentives.

With another 10 catches for 88 yards, Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is well on his way to hitting a total of $4.5M in incentives for 60 catches, 900 yards and 65% playing time. He’s become a big piece for Kansas City and could fit into the team’s long-term plans.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) November 7, 2022

He already has 44 catches and 582 yards. Those numbers trail only tight end Travis Kelce among K.C. pass catchers. Smith-Schuster has exceeded 65% of the offensive snaps in six of eight games so far this season, 73.4% overall.

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Next up

Pitt and Robert Morris began their college basketball seasons Monday.

Blake Hinson had 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Panthers beat UT-Martin, 80-58. RMU was shellacked 91-53 by the Ohio State Buckeyes. Enoch Cheeks led the Colonials with 17 points.

Now Duquesne gets its turn. The Dukes tip off their 2022-23 season with a home game against the Montana Grizzlies on Tuesday night at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. It’s a 7 p.m. start.

The Dukes are trying to shake off a 6-24 campaign a season ago. Like last year, coach Keith Dambrot’s depth chart has had a lot of turnover. Duquesne has added 10 newcomers.

It’s a different story for the Grizzlies. Montana returns four starters from last year’s 18-14 team. It was picked to finish third in the Big Sky preseason coaches and media polls.

The Dukes are 5.5-point favorites according to BetRivers.

As for the Duquesne women’s team, they won their season opener Monday night, beating Point Park 94-47. Sophomore guard Megan McConnell scored 17 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field to lead the Dukes. She also recorded her fourth career double-double after securing 10 rebounds.

Don’t forget about us

The Dukes football team got some recognition on Monday too, in the wake of their 35-28 overtime win over Sacred Heart.

The NEC named its weekly primetime performers. Two of them were Dukes.

Official #NECFB Prime Performers for Week #️⃣

N. Smith, CCSU
B. Lucas, DUQ
J. Mischler, DUQ
A. Johnson, LIU
E. O'Neill, LIU
C. Primrose, LIU
K. Womack, SHU
T. Cook, SFU
J. Sliwoski, SFU
M. Jackson, SFU
J. Corbett, STO#PrimePerformers pic.twitter.com/2tYco9r1vR

— NEC Football (@NECFootball) November 7, 2022

Joe Mischler was nominated after going 18 of 28 for 209 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score. Billy Lucas was named as well. The running back posted a career-high 170 yards rushing on 30 carries (5.7 per carry) with two touchdowns.

. @billy_lucas5 the middle for a TOUCHDOWN! PAT is good.

Dukes defense needs a stop to end this one.#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/jGJAotEFx7

— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) November 5, 2022

Sacred Heart defensive lineman Carson Primrose was recognized too. The North Catholic product had three sacks in his Pittsburgh homecoming.