Monday night’s loss by the Browns carried with it an incidental benefit for the Steelers. The loss guaranteed that the Steelers won’t finish in last place in the AFC North.
This means that the Steelers will continue a streak of not finishing in last place in their division that dates back to 1988.
In all the years since then, the Steelers have never had a season in which the wheels completely came off. It’s an amazing run of consistent relevance.
The streak bridges the three coaches the Steelers have had since 1969. Chuck Noll coached from 1989 through 1991. Bill Cowher, from 1992 through 2006. And Mike Tomlin, since 2007.
Entering the season, the Steelers appeared to be the worst team in the division, on paper. But football isn’t played on paper. The Steelers currently are in first place by 1.5 games.
No matter how the last five weeks play out, the Steelers definitely won’t finish in fourth place.
The NFL has announced this year’s nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
Each NFL team nominates one player for the award, which recognizes players who excel both on the field and in their communities.
“The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award celebrates Walter’s enduring legacy of excellence on the field and compassion off it,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “This award is the league’s most prestigious honor, and we are proud to recognize these 32 outstanding men for the positive impact they make in their communities every day.”
Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward won the award last year. This year’s nominees are:
Cardinals tight end Trey McBride
Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett
Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith
Bills tackle Dion Dawkins
Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen
Bears defensive lineman Andrew Billings
Bengals tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
Browns cornerback Denzel Ward
Cowboys guard Zack Martin
Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton
Lions quarterback Jared Goff
Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark
Texans safety Jalen Pitre
Colts cornerback Kenny Moore
Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce
Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby
Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker
Rams running back Kyren Williams
Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold
Vikings fullback C.J. Ham
Patriots defensive lineman Deatrich Wise
Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan
Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton
Jets defensive lineman Solomon Thomas
Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham
Steelers defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi
49ers linebacker Curtis Robinson
Seahawks linebacker Uchenna Nwosu
Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans
Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons
Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner
Appeals officer Ramon Foster has upheld the three-game suspension of Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, the league announced Wednesday.
The Texans are on their off week this week, so Al-Shaair will miss games against the Dolphins, Chiefs and Ravens in Weeks 15-17. He can return for the Week 18 game against the Titans.
The NFL suspended Al-Shaair on Tuesday for what the NFL called “repeated violations of rules intended to protect the health and safety of players and promote sportsmanship,” including the hit to the head of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence that led to the linebacker’s ejection from Sunday’s game.
Lawrence landed on injured reserve Wednesday with a concussion, likely ending his season.
Al-Shaair has paid two fines this season. The league docked him $11,817 for punching Bears running back Roschon Johnson in Week 2 when Johnson thought Al-Shaair’s hit on Caleb Williams along the sideline was unnecessary, and Al-Shaair lost $11,255 for a hit out of bounds on Titans running back Tony Pollard in Week 12.
The suspension will cost Al-Shaair three game checks of $112,745 each, totaling $338,235.
If receiver Diontae Johnson is hoping to get released by the Ravens so that he can clear waivers and sign with another contender, he shouldn’t hold his breath.
The Ravens surely won’t give him a one-way ticket out of town. For one very important reason.
Johnson is in his contract year. If/when he signs elsewhere during the early weeks of free agency, Johnson’s departure will count toward the Ravens’ haul of 2026 compensatory draft picks.
The Ravens are masters of getting the most out of the compensatory draft-pick process. It’s surely one of the reasons why they traded for Johnson. Short-term help, long-term replacement of the fifth-round pick that was surrendered for Johnson and a sixth-round pick.
Johnson refused to enter Sunday’s game against the Eagles, according to the Ravens. Some teams would have responded to such an indignity by cutting the player. The Ravens have instead suspended him — with a public declaration of the reason for it.
If he doesn’t do what he’s expected to do, they’ll suspend him again. And they’ll keep suspending him until the season has ended and it’s time to start the countdown before he signs at a time that it counts toward Baltimore’s compensatory draft picks.
In four games with the Ravens, Johnson has one catch for six yards and five targets.
So one catch, one suspension, and one problem that won’t be solved by trying to get the Ravens to release him.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said on Monday he would wait to comment on the situation with receiver Diontae Johnson, who did not play a snap in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles.
Now the organization has made a significant statement.
The Ravens announced they’ve suspended Johnson for one game for conduct detrimental to the team. With Baltimore on a bye in Week 14, that suspension will take place in the team’s Week 15 game against the Giants.
“We have made the difficult decision to suspend Diontae Johnson for our upcoming game against the New York Giants for conduct detrimental to the team,” G.M. Eric DeCosta said in a statement. “Diontae’s suspension stems from refusing to enter our game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“We will have no further comments on this matter going forward.”
Johnson, 28, was acquired in late October from Carolina but has caught just one pass for 6 yards in four games.
He had 30 receptions for 357 yards with three TDs while playing seven games for the Panthers earlier this year.
