Monday’s “First Call” features Justin Fields’ postgame comments about the Steelers’ defense. We check in on how Russell Wilson did for New York’s other team. Odds are out for the Backyard Brawl, but not yet for Penn State’s next game.
And the Pirates head to the Beltway for a week.
Fields feeling froggy
Despite losing in their season opener 34-32, ex-Steelers quarterback Justin Fields thought his Jets’ offense did enough to win.
Especially given the improvements the Steelers tried to make on defense.
“I’m just calling it what it is. They acquired all these guys in the offseason — future Hall of Famers on that side of the ball — and we put up 32,” Fields said in his postgame press conference. “And there were still plays left out there.”
Fields’ unit put up 32 points and 394 yards in total offense.
To be fair to the newcomers on the Steelers defense, though, Jalen Ramsey, Chuck Clark and Brandin Echols all made big plays down the stretch to secure victory for the team.
The Jets next play Buffalo in a divisional game. They just yielded 432 yards on defense to Baltimore, but won 41-40.
The Steelers welcome Seattle. The Seahawks offense only posted 230 yards of offense during a 17-13 loss in San Francisco.
Russ bust
While Aaron Rodgers and Fields were having good games Sunday as the Steelers were playing the Jets, the third point in that Pittsburgh-New York quarterbacking triangle did not.
That was Russell Wilson. He was underwhelming as the New York Giants lost 21-6 to Washington.
Wilson was just 17 of 30 for 168 yards and no touchdowns. He was also sacked twice while rushing for 44 yards. That rushing total was significant because Wilson actually led the Giants in that category. No one else had more than 24 rushing yards on the team.
As an offense, the Giants only put up 231 yards. The Commanders, meanwhile, posted 432.
Wilson ended up with a passer rating of 59.3. Fields was at 119.1, and Rodgers ended with a 136.7 mark. After the game, Giants head coach Brian Daboll was noncommittal when it came to naming a starting QB for Week 2.
What the money says
After a disheartening loss to a MAC school (Ohio) Saturday, the West Virginia Mountaineers find themselves 5.5-point home underdogs (via BetRivers) to the Pitt Panthers in Saturday’s Backyard Brawl.
Pitt comes in at 2-0, having beaten Central Michigan and Duquesne by a combined total of 80 points.
Not only did the Mountaineers lose to Ohio, they were only up 10-3 on Robert Morris at halftime in Week 1. Pitt won last year’s Backyard Brawl, 38-34.
As for Penn State, the second-ranked Nittany Lions shut out Florida International, 34-0, on Saturday. Now they play Villanova in State College this weekend.
Since it is an FBS vs. FCS game, no lines will be posted until 24 hours prior to kickoff. However, some outlets are projecting a 45-point spread.
So much for the good times rollin’
The Pirates were high on life heading into last weekend’s series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They had just swept the Los Angeles Dodgers and had won 12 of their last 16.
Then the Brewers came to town and ended all that fun. The National Central leading Brew Crew swept the Bucs by a combined score of 19-5 over the last three days.
Now the Pirates have to head out for a week-long trip against Baltimore (Tuesday through Thursday) and Washington (Friday through Sunday).
The good news is that both teams are in last place in their respective divisions. The Orioles are 66-77, in the cellar of the American League East. The Nationals are 58-84. The only team worse than them in the National League is Colorado (40-103).
The Buccos won three of four against Washington earlier this year. They have yet to face Baltimore.
The first game of the road trip is in Baltimore on Tuesday. Prior to falling 5-2 to the Dodgers on Sunday, the Orioles had won five in a row.
Washington has also been better lately, taking five of six. The Nats dropped eight in a row before this run.
LISTEN: This week’s “Madden Monday” with Tim Benz and Mark Madden.
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.
