First Call: Steelers’ next opponent pulls off a road upset; James Conner, Josh Dobbs shine as Cardinals stun Cowboys
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Monday’s “First Call” takes a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ next opponent. We also examine how a pair of former Steelers led the Arizona Cardinals to a big upset.
A wrestling superstar almost won big on a Steelers bet. A former Pirate had a nice afternoon.
And the Pitt Panthers are road favorites despite their tough times of late.
Not jaggin’ around
After beating the Las Vegas Raiders 23-18 on Sunday night, the Steelers go on the road for a second straight week. On Sunday, they’ll face the Houston Texans (1-2), who are coming off an upset win for their first victory of the season.
They beat the AFC South divisional favorites, the Jacksonville Jaguars, 37-17. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud was 20 of 30 for 280 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn’t intercepted. In fact, he has yet to throw a pick this season.
Stroud’s favorite target was Tank Dell. He had 140 yards on five catches and a touchdown.
Rookie to rookie. @CJ7STROUD hits Tank Dell for a 68-yard TD!
: #HOUvsJAX on FOX
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/UQdQ05hqXN pic.twitter.com/NszwLZjorq— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2023
Last year, the Texans only averaged 17 points per game, second lowest in the NFL. The Steelers’ last visit to Houston was on Christmas Day 2017. They won 34-6. Mike Hilton stole the show with three sacks.
The Steelers have opened as early 3.5-point favorites.
Engineering an upset
Speaking of upsets, a pair of former Steelers were the driving forces behind another one Sunday afternoon. The Arizona Cardinals stunned the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys 28-16.
Quarterback Josh Dobbs was 17 of 21 for 189 yards and a touchdown. Running back James Conner had 98 yards rushing and a touchdown.
come for the @JamesConner_ touchdown.
stay for the @ParisJohnsonJr block. pic.twitter.com/xqyndI9rq6
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 24, 2023
Conner’s 266 yards rushing is the third highest total in the league so far. The previously unbeaten Cowboys were 11.5-point favorites over the previously winless Cardinals.
So close
Dr. Britt Baker is an AEW wrestling superstar and renowned Pittsburgh sports fan. She was born in Punxsutawney and has degrees from both Penn State and Pitt.
And she just missed out on a big pay day gambling on the Steelers game Sunday night. Baker posted a ticket that had Calvin Austin as the first player to score a touchdown. It was a $100 bet that would’ve yielded $3,100 return.
Austin did score the first touchdown of the game — for the Steelers. But Davantae Adams had already scored for the Raiders.
— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) September 25, 2023
Let’s hope she also made a bet on the Steelers covering the spread, since they were 3-point underdogs at kickoff.
Angling the odds
Despite their recent problems, the Pitt Panthers (1-3) are still a slight favorite on the road this weekend.
BetRivers lists the Panthers as 2.5-point favorites at Virginia Tech on Saturday night. That’s despite the fact that Pitt has lost three games in a row.
The Hokies have been no better, though. They are 1-3 and just lost their third in a row as well, including a 24-17 defeat at Marshall on Saturday.
Tech has only scored 86 points. That’s the fewest in the ACC aside from the Virginia Cavaliers. Pitt beat Va. Tech 45-29 at Acrisure Stadium last year.
Meanwhile, West Virginia (3-1) is a 10-point underdog at Texas Christian (3-1). Sixth-ranked Penn State (4-0) is a 26-point favorite at Northwestern (2-2).
Joltin’ Josh
Former Pirate Josh Bell had a big day for the Miami Marlins. He went 3 for 4 with a home run against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon. It gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
Josh Bell goes OPPO!!!
And Miami leads 2-0! pic.twitter.com/xjk1zg54D1
— Marlins Radio (@MarlinsRadio) September 24, 2023
For Bell, that was his 22nd homer of the season and 11th since being acquired by Miami from the Cleveland Guardians on Aug. 1. It was just his third this month.
The defeat means the Brewers were unable to clinch the National League Central. They still have a six-game lead on the second-place Cubs.
With the victory, the Marlins remained a game behind the Chicago Cubs for the final National League wild-card spot. The Marlins visit the Pirates for three games to close out the season this weekend.