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HR 2: Top 5 NFL Offenses & Defenses: Week 5 · The Steelers Report

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Is the steelers report with brian backhoe and ed truth
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: on steelers nation radio a part of the steelers audio network.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Busy show so far hits and misses of the week
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: fix it and get it right wednesday we have our
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: power rankings incoming here to start our second hour off
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: And we'll also end the show today with a look
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: back of 25 years of Heinz Field Accushore Stadium.
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: Again, it was 25 years ago today.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: The first game, regular season game, was played on the
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: North Shore in the Steelers' new home in which the
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals. We were talking earlier in
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: the week here on the show about Three Rivers Stadium
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: closing the Pirates with their final regular season game. And
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: then their final Three River Stadium final game for the
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers against the.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: Washington football team.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: And then in 2021, the spring, PNC Park opens with
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Pirates. And then eventually the Pittsburgh Steelers, they
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: host a exhibition game in August of 2021 against the
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: Detroit Lions before opening up the season again. in october
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: october 7th 2021 against the cincinnati bangles so it's hard
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: to believe double b for some of us uh the
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: the younger folks out there listening uh not so much
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: but for those of us that you know i'm 46
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: so i was uh at the tail end of my
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: college years at the end of three verse stadium in
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: the start of pnc park and now accusure stadium and
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: you were also a young lad during all of that.
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  Speaker 3: As well.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah i was there was a lot of weird stuff
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: going on in the the world back then. I mean,
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: obviously like nine 11 was so tragic and everybody reflected
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: on that a little less than a month ago on
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: the 25 year anniversary of, uh, of that horrible day. Um,
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: but you know, there was also like Y2K. I remember
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: when I was like nine years old, people didn't know
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: if the, the world was going to just stop turning
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: or what was going to happen.
• 2:18
  Speaker 5: Everything was going to shut down.
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  Speaker 3: So, uh, yeah.
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  Speaker 4: Um, you know, those were strange and obviously, um, you know,
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: Tragic things that happened, but Steelers getting a new stadium
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: had to be weird.
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  Speaker 5: For people, too.
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  Speaker 4: You know, I couldn't really appreciate it as someone who'd
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: been to probably a handful of games at Three Rivers. But, yeah,
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: we'll we'll reflect on that more to end the show today.
• 2:39
  Speaker 5: That'll be fun.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: One other thing to recognize is Three Rivers Stadium, when
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: it was imploded, blown up, right? the giveaway to now
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: AccuShare Stadium and of course PNC Park on the other
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: side there was 30 years old. So, you know, we
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: talk about both PNC Park and now AccuShare Stadium being
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: 25 years old.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: Brian, well, look, five more years. Does that mean we're
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: in line for a new baseball park? I don't think so.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: PNC Park is one of the.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Best baseball venues in the United States, and the Steelers
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: have invested a lot of money into AccuShare Stadium in
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: recent years, trying to upgrade that and keep that going
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: as well.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I guess you'd like to think that stuff's built
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: a little sturdier these days, but also the modern creature
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: comforts that people like in today's stadiums and venues, there's
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: always more keeping up with the Joneses. Also, the big
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: difference clearly is one of those buildings was Got a
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: lot more wear and tear considering it hosted two teams games,
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: football and baseball, with the Steelers and the Buccos.
• 3:46
  Speaker 5: And then the Pirates got their own place. The Steelers
• 3:50
  Speaker 5: got their own place.
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: And, you know, there's still the pit football aspect of
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: it and whippy old football championship games being played at Akershire.
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: But I have to think that it's better for everything. Upkeep, improvements,
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: routine maintenance, that there's only one professional team that plays there,
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: one sport that plays there.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's for sure. And, you know, it's a good venue, too.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: And over the years, the open-end zone is now more closed.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: When it first opened, it was very open. But over
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: the course of time, they've done a lot of renovations
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: to add more stands. And the Jumbotron right there, if
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: you're facing towards the city, if you look past that,
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  Speaker 2: you get a great view of the city. So really exciting.
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  Speaker 2: An awesome place to host football in the fall there
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  Speaker 2: on the North Shore. Double B, let's get into our
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: NFL power rankings for offenses and defenses here this week.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: So again, if you're looking for regular power rankings, my goodness,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: you can just go in online. You can find millions
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: of power rankings by all the different media outlets and
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: shows out there, as well as here on SNR. But
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: Brian and I, we take a little bit of a
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  Speaker 2: different angle for it. We give you our top five
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: offenses and defenses going into this week. And we will
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  Speaker 2: start with our top five offenses first. And for me,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: Double B at number five, for the first time on
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: my list, are the Dallas Cowboys at 2-2 on the season.
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  Speaker 2: They're my only 2-2 team on my top five list,
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  Speaker 2: but they get there because their offense, one of the
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: best in the NFL, averaging 30.5 points per game.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: And George Pickens and C.D.
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  Speaker 2: Lamb, who've had 17 receptions this past week, Both of
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: them have a big reason to do with that.
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  Speaker 5: It's funny, Ed, because they are fifth on my list
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: as well.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, they couldn't be denied from my top five after
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: that performance. And CeeDee Lamb alone just completely shredding what
• 5:45
  Speaker 4: we thought was a pretty good Houston Texans defense coming
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: into this season. But spoiler alert, next segment, you're not
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: going to hear from them as I go through my
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: top five defenses.
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  Speaker 5: They just have not earned it.
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: Through. Well, we still haven't figured out quarter pole, whether
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: that means beginning or, or, and maybe a listener out
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: there can help me out with that or send us
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: a tweet or something.
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  Speaker 5: Um, but yeah, the Texans have been miserable.
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  Speaker 4: However, I still give the Cowboys a lot of credit
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: for moving the ball the way they did and finishing
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: the way they did.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: The boys have done good on offense. I'm with you
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: on defense.
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  Speaker 2: So they won't be on my defensive list either so
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: far this season. Hey, look, Brian, uh, for Steeler nation
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: out there, um, Tomorrow night, Thursday night football kicks off
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: week number five, and the Cowboys will be on there
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: playing the Tampa Bay Bucs. Maybe not the best matchup
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: between the Bucs and Cowboys, but in Steeler Nation, you'll
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: be able to watch Joey Porter Jr.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: You'll be able to see George Pickens.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: Who knows?
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  Speaker 3: Maybe you'll see Broderick Jones along the way. Lots of interest.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: I don't want to say good or bad, but just
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: lots of interest in and around southwestern Pennsylvania to watch
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: that game tomorrow night.
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: None of those players have ever been voted Steelers team MVP,
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: which the Bucs will have on their team, Kenneth Gainwell,
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: who I think he caught a touchdown pass last week.
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: I think he finally got off the schneid in his
• 7:04
  Speaker 4: new surroundings.
• 7:05
  Speaker 5: So, yeah, I mean, he'll be in that game as well.
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: And it'll be a tough, tough task for Jalen Daniels.
• 7:12
  Speaker 4: The Bucs undrafted rookie QB goes without saying they're not
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: going to be in my top five offenses here at
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: who you got number four.
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: You hear the train in the background.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: That's because Double B is on the south side at
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: the Steelers facility as they get set for practice here
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: on Wednesday. So just throwing that out there, Brian, I
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: don't want anybody to think you were, you know, maybe
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: in West Philadelphia or something at the railroad tracks. You
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: are in Pittsburgh on the south side. We hear the
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: trains in the background. Of course, they're right next to
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: the facility there. Number four on my list for the
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: top offenses this week are the Baltimore Ravens, who are
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: 3-1 on the season, averaging 29 points per game. Lamar's
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: banged up, so we'll see if he goes this upcoming weekend.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: They have an interesting matchup against the Falcons. All of
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: a sudden, it's an interesting matchup. We talked about it
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: on the show yesterday. The Falcons were left for dead
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: after the first two weeks of the season, but here
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: they are. They've arrived, a big win in New Orleans
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: on Monday night. Now they get ready for maybe the
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens, but this and the Ravens, just
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: even outside of Lamar, put up some big numbers, including
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: Derrick Henry off to a good start so far this season.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think Tyler Huntley can run that offense
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: fairly well.
• 8:25
  Speaker 5: He's done it. in the past. We'll see how many
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: games they need them to do so this year.
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  Speaker 4: I don't think the Falcons' defense scares you too much,
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: although they did play well against the Saints Monday night.
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: Tyler Shuck started getting New Orleans back into it late,
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: but too little too late. I don't have the Ravens
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: cracking my top five, although they were, you know, I
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: guess I can't say receiving votes considering I'm the only
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: voter here, but they're a little banged up right now
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: for my liking and my taste. My number four is
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: a team that is healthy and humming. And, you know,
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: they're not really, they don't have anything to show for
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: it more than a 2-2 record, but it's no fault
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  Speaker 4: of their offense because they've scored 30-plus in three of
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: four weeks, I believe. And, oh, last week they put
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: up 26 in a loss, and that is the Detroit Lions.
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: Everything working for them still on that side of the
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: ball for the most part. Jameer Gibbs, it all starts
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: with him. But Amon Ross, St. Brown, Jamison Williams, and
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: even the third receiver, Isaac Teslav, got involved in that
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: Sunday night football game against the Panthers. The defense isn't
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: helping them out, but the offense is still very good.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: I did not have the Lions in my top five,
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: but you didn't have the Ravens in your top five,
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: so we swapped one there. Let's see if we get
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: our top three. in line, maybe in a different order.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: Maybe they're in the same order. I'm not sure, but
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: I'll start. My number three offense this week are the
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: Kansas City Chiefs at 4-0, averaging 29.5 points per game.
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: Not good news for Steeler Nation, Brian. Not good news
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: for the AFC. Not good news for the team in
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Buffalo or anywhere else in the AFC. this Chiefs team
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: seems to be back Patrick Mahomes looks back Kenneth Walker
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: you just mentioned him a bit ago off to a
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: great start so far this season the defending Super Bowl
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: champ MVP rather for the Kansas City Chiefs and Travis
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: Kelsey does not look like the savage veteran that he is.
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: He looks like a young Travis Kelsey.
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: Yeah, he's got the veteran savvy, but he's also got
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: young legs, it appears. I'm not going the Chiefs direction
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: just yet, but put.
• 10:32
  Speaker 5: A hold on that. There's another phrase for it. I can't.
• 10:35
  Speaker 5: Put a pin in that.
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: I got you.
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: Put a pin in that real quick for me.
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: Also, maybe I should have the Ravens because this slipped
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: through our cracks a little bit earlier. They made a
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: trade today, and a pretty big one, bringing in Cam Juergens,
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: starting center. from the Eagles who I believe was moved
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: from center to guard. There's all sorts of stuff going
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: on in Philly. Lane Johnson did end up retiring, even
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: though that, that was part of my, you know, yelling
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: at clouds segment yesterday was the Lane Johnson stuff.
• 11:05
  Speaker 5: Well, that turned out to be true.
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: That he's hanging it up and he's somebody who had
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: a big impact on a couple of Steelers defenders, Nick
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: Herbig and Keanu Benton through the Nate Herbig connection would
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: go and train at Lane Johnson's big old barn. I
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: think that he's gotten, I think it's New Jersey, maybe,
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: not Philly, but right around that area. So happy trails
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: to Lane Johnson, who may well be in Canton someday. Regardless, though,
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: the Eagles aren't going to have him for their matchup
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: with the Steelers, and now they're not going to have
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: Cam Juergens, but the Steelers will face Juergens not once
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: but twice this season, according to Adam Schefter. Eagles trading
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: him to the Ravens for a 2027 7th rounder. Oh, no,
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: they're sending Juergens and a 2027 7th to the Ravens
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: for a 2027 5th and a 2028.
• 11:50
  Speaker 5: Second.
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: So the Steelers aren't the only team acquiring 2028 second
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: round picks. Howie Roseman wants to do the same for
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: a guy who was the heir apparent to Jason Kelsey.
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: And I thought was doing pretty well in Philly, but
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: they must feel like they've got reinforcements on the offensive line.
• 12:07
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: That's a digression from our power rankings, top five offenses.
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: But I had to get that in there as the
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: NFL news of the day at my number three is
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: the Chicago bears. It doesn't matter if Caleb Williams is
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: a quarterback or, Case Keenum or Tyson Bajent or Mike
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: Tyson or Tyson Beckford. I mean, they are just rolling
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: along with whoever they slot in under center in Ben
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: Johnson's offense. DeAndre Swift and Kyle Menongai have been the
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: new Jameer Gibbs, David Montgomery. They are scary. And I
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: think when Caleb Williams comes back, if he gets back
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: to full health with that hamstring, they're going to be
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: a force to be reckoned with.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: I agree with you there, Menungai. Nice game last week.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: My fantasy football team appreciated his efforts. Let me tell you,
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: I put him, slid him in off the bench into
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: the starting lineup, and he had 20-plus points last week.
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: So good job there for that Bears offense. I don't
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: have the Bears on my top five.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: We'll see if the Chiefs, who I had at number three,
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: end up in your top two or not. Number two
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: for me, the Buffalo Bills, three and one on this season.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: They have their first loss of the year against the
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: New England Patriots, but they're still averaging 31.8 points per game,
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: and Josh Allen continues to be on a tear for
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: the team from Buffalo.
• 13:16
  Speaker 5: I've got the Chiefs number two.
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: I guess I'm being a little bit hypocritical considering I
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: took out the Ravens because of the quarterback worries, but
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: I'm not ascribing and i'm not ascribing the same qb
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: proof bears take to them that i am chicago but
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: i just think ben johnson is qb proof uh to
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: to put it bluntly uh so my number two is
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: kansas city um you know like what i'm seeing from
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: patrick mahomes travis kelsey taekwon thornton went down with that
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: gruesome ankle injury the other day but you know xavier
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: worthy can you know can do more i think there's
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: rumors that they're going to sign tyree kill again and
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: have that reunion come to fruition but whether they do
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: or don't i feel good about kenneth walker third being
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: the engine that leads the way for what seems to
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: be a dynamic chiefs passing offense again yeah.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: I saw that with hill as well uh double b
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: and i agree with you there they are a very
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: good offense like i said bad news for not just
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: the steelers but the entire afc maybe even the entire
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: nfl Chiefs look to be back through the first four weeks.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: Number one on my list for the top offense this week,
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: the San Francisco 49ers. 4-0, undefeated on the season, averaging
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: 30.5 points per game. If I were to do a
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: power ranking of the number one overall team so far
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: in the NFL, Brian, it would probably be the San
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: Francisco 49ers. They've looked very, very good in the first
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: four weeks. And more importantly for San Francisco is they
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: have remained healthy through the first four weeks.
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: Well, kind of, I mean, they're still running into injuries too.
• 14:52
  Speaker 4: I mean, they're, I think they're the most heard up
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: team this year by some metric and, you know, shout
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: out to my buddy Julio again.
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: I'll probably see him tonight at basketball.
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: I'm not quite there believing yet in this Brock Purdy
• 15:05
  Speaker 4: MVP campaign. So I don't have the Niners at number one.
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: That means I don't even have them in my top five.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: I need to see more from them. And I feel
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: like it, there could be some regression coming because of the,
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: the piecemeal nature of their offense.
• 15:19
  Speaker 5: I've got the Bills, number one.
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: I know they just lost to the Patriots, but I'll
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: still take my chances with Josh Allen.
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: That was a game without D.J. Moore, too. Keyon Coleman emerged.
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: I feel like they're coming up with more answers as
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: this season goes along, not less.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: Wow, we started out pretty good with us both sneaking
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: in the Cowboys at number five, and then from there
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: it was a lot of different teams. I have Cowboys
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: at five, Ravens offense at four, Chiefs offense at three,
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: Bills offense at two. and the 49ers offense at No. 1.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: Double B goes Bills No. 1, Chiefs No. 2, Bears 3,
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: Lions 4, and Cowboys 5. Where do the defenses fall
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: into play so far four weeks into the season?
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: We'll get into that and more. Double B has had
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: the Vikings all these weeks.
• 16:02
  Speaker 5: I have not.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: Did I finally get the Vikings into my top five?
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: We'll get into that.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: And then at 340 today, the 25th anniversary of Accuture Stadium,
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: the first game ever played there.
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: We'll dive into some of our favorite memories. He's Backo.
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: I'm Troop.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: It is the Steelers Report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Backo and Ed
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: Audio Network.
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: Brian Backo joining the show today via the south side.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers practice number one of the week underway.
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: First official practice, I should say, for the week.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: So one of the first official injury report of the
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: week that will come out later today.
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: So we'll go over that tomorrow to check in on injuries.
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: Anxious to see where Deshaun Elliott falls into play.
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: He's been on the IR.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: Will he be potentially activated in that 21-day window? Rico
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: Dattel still shaking up. We already know that Derek Harmon
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: is now on the IR for the first four, or
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: not the first, but the next four games, rather, for
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: the Steelers. So they have some other moving parts, some
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: players that are battling for that defensive line spot this week,
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: Double B and rookie Gabriel Rubio, Kevin Djibouti. Boy, I
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: always butcher that name every week here with you.
• 17:32
  Speaker 5: Kevin Djibouti Jr., Kevin Jobity.
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: That's it.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: I don't know why I ever go the other way
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: with that, but he is an undrafted free agent as well.
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: They made the team. Great story coming out of camp.
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: I know you had a really good story on Steelers.com
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: right after training camp on him. I would think those
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: two are probably battling for that spot this week, but
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: they might actually activate both of them. There might be
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: both of them with that defensive line. I think Cam
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: Hayward's in line for more snaps on that defensive line
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: this week, along with Waya Black. and Keanu Benton, Sebastian
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: Joseph Day, I think he'll get an uptick as well.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: And then if you do add in the two of them,
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: I think that'll be your defensive line this week.
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: But we shall see.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: There's some other players on the practice squad that are
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: in play for those spots too.
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Cam probably wants to play more snaps coming off
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: that disappointing defeat in Cleveland. Granted, he did play 72%
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: of the defensive snaps in that one, but the way
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: that it ended had to leave a sour taste in
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: everybody's mouth, particularly the defense. As far as Cam, I mean,
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: he's got a few extra days rest. It is still
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: a long season, so you need to be smart and
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: rely on your depth. Believe in those guys. But I'm
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: sure he is ready and raring to go back at
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: home on Sunday. The other one, I don't think you
• 18:48
  Speaker 4: mentioned Jamel Dean, Ed. We don't know what the status
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: will be of starting outside cornerback Jamel Dean.
• 18:54
  Speaker 5: So it's going to probably look a little funky on Sunday.
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: With the actives and the inactives and a couple potential
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: practice squad call-ups. We don't usually even invoke this, but
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: I believe that every team is entitled to two practice
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: squad elevations per game, and each player on your practice
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: squad gets up to three of them per season. Now,
• 19:16
  Speaker 4: Danico Slaughter already hit that number. Steelers promoted him to
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: the active roster for week four, waived him, have now
• 19:23
  Speaker 4: signed him back to the practice squad, so I'm sure
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: he's happy to be getting an NFL paycheck, but he's
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: been a little bit of a yo-yo for them coming
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: up and coming down providing depth in the secondary. We'll
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: see what Sean Murphy, Bunting, and Terrell Smith can add
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: their first week on the team.
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: And the recent new signees, if you will, for the
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers now on the roster. We'll see if they
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: get elevated from the practice squad this upcoming week.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: We'll navigate through all that.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: And the injury report here in the next couple days
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: before we get you set for week number five at
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: Accushore Stadium between the Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers. We
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: are going over our top five power rankings of the
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: week for our top five offenses. I had the Niners
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: at one, Bills at two, Chiefs at three, Ravens at four,
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: Cowboys at five, Double B had the Bills at one,
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Chiefs at two, Bears at three, Lions at four, Cowboys
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: at five. So let's get into our top five defenses
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: so far this week, and I will start at number five.
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: It's the Kansas City Chiefs, 4-0, undefeated so far this season.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: I talked about their offense during our last segment, averaging
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: 29.5 points per game offensively. Well, defensively, they're giving up
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: 19.3 so far, and as I said, the Chiefs look
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: back not just on offense but also defense so far
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: this year.
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and before I get into my defenses, Ed, this
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: was big for me. I think I dropped the Bengals
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: out of my top five offenses for the first time
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: all season, but just haven't seen it all working for them.
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: And now you've got Jamar Chase in concussion protocol, T.
• 20:56
  Speaker 4: Higgins dealing with a back, I believe. That made me
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: leave them out. I also, to be honest, I considered
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: the Atlanta Falcons with the way that they've been winging
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: the ball around and running it.
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: With Michael Penix jr.
• 21:11
  Speaker 4: Coming in, but maybe one more week before I, uh,
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: push the dirty birds into my top five.
• 21:15
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: Oh, and I didn't want to put the Minnesota Vikings
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: in there, even though they signed Odell Beckham to the
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: practice squad today.
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: That was some, some other NFL news.
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: Uh, Odell Beckham, Beckham is back giants to the Vikings
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: after he got cut in New York.
• 21:29
  Speaker 5: Um, but I'm going to mention the Vikings a little
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: bit later. That's for sure.
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: My number five, the Chicago bears, not necessarily just because they,
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: you know, they, they, held serve at home against the Jets,
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: held Geno Smith and company to 12 points. But that
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: followed holding the Eagles to seven points on Monday Night Football.
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: The talk was about Case Keenum, kind of overshadowed that, hey,
• 21:50
  Speaker 4: the Bears defense played pretty darn well.
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: They were able to bear down.
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: And just the week prior to that, they beat the
• 21:56
  Speaker 4: Vikings at home, or excuse me, lost to the Vikings
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: at home, but it was 9-3. So other than that,
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: letting the Panthers just run roughshod over them week one,
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: this defense has been stout. And, you know, I think
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: it's maybe a hole is greater than the sum of
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: its parts right now. But I'll give them the benefit
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: of the doubt, the Bears defense, and put them number
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: five on my list.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I got the Bears at number four on my
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: list for my top five defenses of the week, averaging
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: 16.3 points per game, three and one on the season.
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: I echo everything you just said, Double B. Now, listen,
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: on our offensive side of things, we both started out
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: the same with the Cowboys at number five. And then
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: both of our top fives took some dramatic turns. We'll
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: see if the Chiefs make your top five. They're number
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: five on mine, but the Bears make both of our
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: lists so far. Number five on yours, number four on mine.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Who's your fourth best defense going into week five?
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: I'd say it's another unit that doesn't have the biggest
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: names or the household stars, but they're just quietly getting
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: it done, and that's the Jacksonville Jaguars. If you just
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: quickly pull up their statistics, Ed, the leading tacklers on
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: the season right now, Ventrell Miller and You know, Foye Oluokun,
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: if I said that correctly, and then Antonio Johnson. I mean,
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: Oluokun's been around for a while, but this isn't Fred
• 23:11
  Speaker 4: Warner or Roquan Smith that we're.
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: Talking about in the middle of this defense.
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: Josh Hines-Allen and, you know, the other Josh Allen and
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: Trayvon Walker, they each have a sack and a half.
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: But by and large, I mean, this is a group
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: that just seems to be playing really well as a
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: cohesive unit and held the Bengals down, stomped the Patriots
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: the week before. 120-13 loss to the Broncos this season notwithstanding.
• 23:37
  Speaker 4: It's been a very good group down in Duval.
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: They've been very good against the run so far this year,
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: Double B. And they are my number three team so
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: far this year, giving up 13.3 points per game through
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: the first four games of the season. But that run
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: defense has only given up 297 total rushing yards.
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: On the year.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: That's an average of 74.3 against the run.
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: Only the Atlanta Falcons have been better.
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: They've only given up 48.3 yards per game to their opponents.
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: But I think Jacksonville has faced some better opponents running
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: the football so far through the first four games. And
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: to get to that number, impressive for Jacksonville. So you
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: have the Jags at number four. I have them at
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: number three. Who do you have at number three?
• 24:25
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm playing catch up to you so far today.
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: I guess that's going to leave us with me having
• 24:30
  Speaker 4: a team that you leave off, I'm going to go
• 24:32
  Speaker 4: with the Seattle Seahawks. It's going to take a little
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: bit more than an outburst by the commanders to knock
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: me off of the reigning Super Bowl champs. I think
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: when you look at Seattle and Mike McDonald, they bent
• 24:47
  Speaker 4: a little bit more this past week, giving up 23
• 24:51
  Speaker 4: to the LA Chargers, but that's still a talented offense
• 24:54
  Speaker 4: if they can ever figure out where the pieces go.
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: I'm still going to put my.
• 24:59
  Speaker 4: my money in the Seahawks being pretty good over the
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: balance of this season. But, you know, they've got to
• 25:03
  Speaker 4: match up with the 49ers coming up this week. That'll
• 25:06
  Speaker 4: test that. And it'll test my sort of doubts about
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: San Francisco. So something's got to give there, Ed.
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: That's one of the top games of the week. That's
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: for sure coming up this weekend.
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: And again, we'll get into all of our week five
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: previews at the tail end of the week on Friday
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: as we do our Renegade preview. But that's going to
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: be a good one, obviously, and a big impact early
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: in the season in the NFC West between the 49ers
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: and the Seahawks.
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: Seahawks at number three on your list.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: I don't have them in my top five, Double B,
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: so that could be the difference of our teams as
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: we go through this exercise with these defenses, but I
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: would have them at number six.
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: I'm just on the outside looking in.
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: In fact, it's the first time this season I have
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: not had the Seahawks in my top five. I have
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: the 49ers at number two, so they're my top offense.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: averaging 30.5 points per game, and they're my number two defense,
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: averaging 16 points per game. They are 4-0 undefeated on
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: the season, and as I made my point on offense,
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: if I were to pick a number one overall power
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: ranking team going into week five, the San Francisco 49ers
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: would be it.
• 26:10
  Speaker 4: I've got them number two as well, so I can't
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: fault you there. They've been really, really good on that
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: side of the ball, and Goes without saying, I guess
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: when you look at my offensive rankings compared to the
• 26:21
  Speaker 4: defensive ones, I believe in them more on that side
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: of the ball.
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: 49ers defensively also very good against the run so far.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: They've given up 399 total rushing yards.
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: That's an average of 99.8.
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: 64 points given up so far through four games. Again,
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: that average of just 16 per game. That's how you
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: remain undefeated. And, Brian, if they can keep that up
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: in a very good NFC West that features some really
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: good offenses, that will go a long way.
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: We'll see if they can sustain that.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: They've got a big one, as you said, against the
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: Seahawks this week.
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and the Rams offense, obviously, is in that division, too.
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: They've taken care of them once, but that was on
• 27:02
  Speaker 4: a different continent. If they can do it for a
• 27:05
  Speaker 4: second time back in the United States, you'll really– be
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: feeling strongly, I think, about the 49ers as a legitimate
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: Super Bowl contender, if you don't already.
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: One of the surprise teams that remain undefeated on the season,
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: not so much the Chiefs, not so much the 49ers,
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: but the Minnesota Vikings have remained undefeated on the season
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: at 4-0. And the main reason is their defense with
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: Brian Flores. They are averaging just 12.8 points per game
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: given up.
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: The Vikings are my number one defense. Finally, I arrive there,
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: Brian Bacco. Kudos to you. I applaud you.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: I give it up for you because each and every
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: week you've had the Vikings since week one, if not
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: the number one defense, but definitely in your top three,
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: I know, every week. I finally have bought into your Vikings, and, well,
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: they deserve it. They are definitely, in my opinion, the
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: best defense in the NFL right now.
• 28:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah, they are strong, Ed.
• 28:03
  Speaker 4: I'm sorry that you have to give up the ghost
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: on the New York Jets after, you know, their, I guess,
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: relatively strong start to the season compared to expectations, but
• 28:14
  Speaker 4: I was never fully buying it. And then the Bears
• 28:17
  Speaker 4: ran the ball right down their throats on Sunday with
• 28:19
  Speaker 4: Tyson Bajent at quarterback. So, yep, it was time to
• 28:22
  Speaker 4: say goodbye to them and say hello to the Saints
• 28:24
  Speaker 4: for you, at least at number. And this isn't like
• 28:27
  Speaker 4: any coronation of, I said Saints, Vikings. This isn't any
• 28:30
  Speaker 4: coronation of the Minnesota Vikings, considering they held the Dolphins
• 28:35
  Speaker 4: to 10 points at home.
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: That's kind of a whoop-de-doo sort of.
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: Win, but it just falls in line with the way
• 28:42
  Speaker 4: they've been playing all season, and now they will face
• 28:44
  Speaker 4: the Saints in Week 5 in New Orleans, and we'll
• 28:47
  Speaker 4: see if Brian Flores' crew can keep getting after Tyler
• 28:50
  Speaker 4: Shuck the way they have all these other QBs on
• 28:52
  Speaker 4: their schedule.
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: I'd forgotten about my Jets.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: You were strong on the Vikings through all these weeks,
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: and I was strong on the Jets, so you reminded
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: me there that Fireman Ed has been fired. He is
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: out of the top five, and the Vikings are number
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: one on my list. Yeah, I mean, listen, four games.
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: I'll just give you some of these stats real quick.
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: We have a couple more minutes before we have to
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: go to break. They've given up 1,157 total yards. That's
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: 289.3 per game defensively. Passing-wise... They've only given up 779
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: yards passing. That's an average of 194.8.
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: Rushing-wise, 378. That's 94.5.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: And as I already said, just 51 points and an
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: average of 12.8 points per game. Look, Brian, back in
• 29:27
  Speaker 2: the year 2000, the Ravens didn't have an offense. and
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: as I already said just 51 points and an average
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: of 12.8 points per game I look Brian and back
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: in the year 2000 the Ravens didn't have an offense
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: they had a defense and they went all the way
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: to the Super Bowl so that same formula could be
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: in play for the Vikings because their offenses struggled at
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: times but man their defense has been lights out.
• 29:50
  Speaker 4: Yeah and you know that's going to be another division
• 29:53
  Speaker 4: where it's tough to kind of do it week in
• 29:55
  Speaker 4: and week out you know the funny thing about Minnesota
• 29:58
  Speaker 4: to this point um Ed, is they have faced Malik Willis,
• 30:03
  Speaker 4: Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams, and Jordan Love, but I think
• 30:09
  Speaker 4: all of those guys are off to somewhat slow starts.
• 30:11
  Speaker 5: I mean, obviously Mayfield is, considering he's hurt.
• 30:14
  Speaker 4: Now, and I don't know when he's going to be back,
• 30:16
  Speaker 4: but it's just the chicken and the egg. Did those
• 30:19
  Speaker 4: guys not look good because they're off to slow starts,
• 30:21
  Speaker 4: or is it because the Vikings are just world beaters
• 30:24
  Speaker 4: out there defensively? We'll continue to follow and monitor that.
• 30:29
  Speaker 4: throughout the year, but for a team that has had
• 30:32
  Speaker 4: to hemorrhage some talent due to salary struggles on defense,
• 30:35
  Speaker 4: they haven't really rebuilt.
• 30:37
  Speaker 5: They've reloaded here in 2026.
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: The undefeated Minnesota Vikings at 4-0 on the season. They
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: are the top defense on Double B's list, followed by
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: the 49ers at 2, Seahawks at 3, Jags at 4,
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: Bears at 5.
• 30:51
  Speaker 3: Hey, you're in Pittsburgh.
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: When you say the Jacksonville Jaguars, you have to say Jags.
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: In fact, I should probably put a little bit more
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: Pittsburghese on it. For me, it's the Chiefs at five,
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: the Bears at four, the Jags, there you go, at
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: number three, the 49ers at two, and the Minnesota Vikings,
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: number one this week on my list for our top
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: defensive unit. Whenever we come back, we'll look at some
• 31:12
  Speaker 2: of our favorite memories as we celebrate the 25th anniversary
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: of the first regular season game at then Hinesfield and
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: now AccuShore Stadium.
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: He's BB, I'm ET.
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: It is the Steelers Report right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: part of the Steelers Audio Network.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: This is the Steelers Report with Brian Batko and Ed
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: Troop on Steelers Nation Radio, a part of the Steelers
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: Audio Network.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: Wrapping up our number two here on the Steelers Report
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: before we give things away. Turn things over, I should say,
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: to Wes Shuler and Matt Williamson on SNR's The Drive
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: right here on Steelers Nation Radio, part of the Steelers
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: Audio Network. Again, you can start your day each and
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: every day here on SNR from 10 to noon with
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: our good friends Tom Offerman, who, by the way, will
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: be joining our show tomorrow.
• 32:13
  Speaker 3: A little anxious to talk to Tom, and.
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: One of the questions we'll definitely be asking him, Double B,
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: is his new partner, Vince Williams, who we started with
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: here on SNR earlier this summer. We warmed him up
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: for Tom, and now every day you can catch Tom
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: and Vince Williams on the Blitz.
• 32:32
  Speaker 5: Yeah, Tom and Vince are doing a great job.
• 32:34
  Speaker 4: I've joined them a couple times fresh off of, I
• 32:36
  Speaker 4: think it's been after both road games, so they're giving
• 32:40
  Speaker 4: me a chance to ease back into the my week
• 32:42
  Speaker 4: with you ed although we did a thursday night football
• 32:45
  Speaker 4: on one of those but yeah they're doing a fantastic
• 32:48
  Speaker 4: job and tom is always one to bring a a
• 32:54
  Speaker 4: unique sense of humor to the proceedings and i'm looking
• 32:57
  Speaker 4: forward to him doing that for us later this week
• 32:59
  Speaker 4: on the steelers.
• 32:59
  Speaker 2: Report yeah we'll talk to him tomorrow we'll get his
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: take on the steelers season so far and then You
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: also have before us on every day from 12 to
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: 2 in the locker room.
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: You've got Rob King, Max Starks, and Willie Colon.
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: So in case you don't have enough ex-former Pittsburgh Steelers
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: with you with Vince Williams in the morning, around lunchtime
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: you can catch both of them before you get ready
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: for Double B and I from 2 to 4 each day.
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: And then again, the drive up next with Wes Shuler
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: and Matt Williamson.
• 33:27
  Speaker 3: Well, Brian, we've been talking about it all show long.
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: Today marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of then
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: Heinz Field, now AccuShore Stadium on the North Shore. The
• 33:38
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers' first exhibition game was a game in which
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: I was at. We were sharing some of our memories
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: earlier this year. I was at that game in August
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: of 2021 against the Detroit Lions. So that was officially
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: the first game. But then 9-11 occurred, and then that
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: had to push all the NFL games back, including the
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: start of AccuShore Stadium, then Heinz Field, the opening rather,
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: to October 7th, 2001, which is today, the 25th anniversary
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: in which the Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 16-7. We
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: talked about it at the beginning of the show. It
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: was a big game for the bus. He had 23
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: carries for 153 yards, including a big 48-yard run. Bettis
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: also in that game reached a major career milestone that afternoon,
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: becoming just the 14th player in NFL history to rush
• 34:28
  Speaker 2: for 10,000 yards 10,000.
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: Yards or more.
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: And of course he went on to run for a
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: lot more than that. That was a big moment for
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: the bus. And it was a big moment for the
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: Pittsburgh Steelers when they opened up their first official game
• 34:40
  Speaker 2: at their new home.
• 34:41
  Speaker 4: A couple of the big things that stand out to
• 34:44
  Speaker 4: me from not even just that game specifically, but you
• 34:48
  Speaker 4: can apply it to that game, that first one. But
• 34:52
  Speaker 4: really it was, it was stuff that is logged into
• 34:55
  Speaker 4: my memory bank for over many years and and will
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: be there until I'm old and gray, I guess, and not.
• 35:03
  Speaker 5: As sharp anymore.
• 35:04
  Speaker 4: But it was the bus's quick feet, you know, behind
• 35:07
  Speaker 4: the line of scrimmage, but then, you know, even getting
• 35:09
  Speaker 4: to the hole and, you know, it's tough for a
• 35:12
  Speaker 4: 250 feet, 255, 260-pound man listed on the roster to
• 35:18
  Speaker 4: make himself skinny. But he always found a way, it
• 35:20
  Speaker 4: seemed like, to squeeze through that hole and then pick
• 35:23
  Speaker 4: up steam as he kept going. So I'll always just
• 35:25
  Speaker 4: see Bussie's, as Ike Taylor called him, Bussie's big feet
• 35:29
  Speaker 4: moving way quicker than they had any right to at
• 35:32
  Speaker 4: his size. And typically at the end of that run,
• 35:36
  Speaker 4: just bowling someone over. But the other one, someone else
• 35:39
  Speaker 4: who had a really good game that day, Heinz Ward
• 35:42
  Speaker 4: I mean you just always saw him get up smiling
• 35:44
  Speaker 4: ear to ear once you noticed that you couldn't not
• 35:46
  Speaker 4: notice it with him and that became such a big
• 35:49
  Speaker 4: part of his personality as a player so whether I
• 35:52
  Speaker 4: had my binoculars out as a 12 or 13 year
• 35:55
  Speaker 4: old watching him or they showed him up on the
• 35:57
  Speaker 4: scoreboard typically with however many catches or yards he racked
• 36:01
  Speaker 4: up that day for the Steelers passing game always with
• 36:04
  Speaker 4: a huge smile on his face some eye black on
• 36:07
  Speaker 4: and probably ready to go out there and hit somebody
• 36:09
  Speaker 4: just as much as he was ready to go out
• 36:10
  Speaker 4: there and catch the ball and run with it.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt two of the greatest Steelers ever in
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis that you just mentioned, Brian.
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: And again, folks, make sure you log on to Steelers.com today.
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: Some excellent content and articles, pictures, videos led by Teresa
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: Varley and Brian Bacco and also Jim Wexel, who's a
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: good friend of our show as well, talking about their
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: favorite memories and some of the other fans' favorite memories
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: from over the years. Double B, Bill Cowher had a
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: message after that game, and you guys wrote about this
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: on Steelers.com today. The game in which helped establish what
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: the stadium would become, as he put it.
• 36:47
  Speaker 3: We want to make this place special.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: He also emphasized how important Steelers fans would be to
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: that success. And 25 years later, that success for the Steelers,
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: they've won 151 games at Accashore Stadium, and they continue
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: to build the legacy in and around that venue. And again,
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: after 25 years, there's been some memorable games, some memorable moments.
• 37:10
  Speaker 3: How about you?
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: We'll let you go first. What stands out to you
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: during those 25 years?
• 37:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I think first it's that run of,
• 37:17
  Speaker 4: Ben Roethlisberger in his rookie year, Ed, I mean, not
• 37:20
  Speaker 4: just the, you know, the 14 straight wins. I think
• 37:24
  Speaker 4: it was to go 15 and one in that regular season,
• 37:27
  Speaker 4: but that season when they beat the Patriots and the
• 37:31
  Speaker 4: Eagles back to back, you know, that really let you
• 37:35
  Speaker 4: know that this team and this young quarterback wearing number
• 37:38
  Speaker 4: seven was with the, with the long funny name was
• 37:42
  Speaker 4: absolutely for real.
• 37:44
  Speaker 5: And, you know, as I put it, in my story.
• 37:46
  Speaker 4: I mean, it was like living in that montage of
• 37:50
  Speaker 4: your favorite sports movie. We did it on Tuesday's show.
• 37:53
  Speaker 4: Remember the Titans, the replacements, what have you that pretty
• 37:56
  Speaker 4: much every sports movie has that part, you know, about
• 37:59
  Speaker 4: halfway through where the home team can't lose the newspaper
• 38:03
  Speaker 4: clippings are piling up one after another. In this case, it's,
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: you know, Steelers win another one. Roethlisberger leads the way again.
• 38:11
  Speaker 4: It was just such a buzz and a rush around
• 38:12
  Speaker 4: town at that time. And I don't know if you
• 38:15
  Speaker 4: remember it that same way, but that always comes to
• 38:18
  Speaker 4: mind for me was that that specific two game span
• 38:22
  Speaker 4: and what was obviously a legacy starting run for the
• 38:28
  Speaker 4: Steelers that year.
• 38:29
  Speaker 3: That's a great call.
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: I had forgotten about that back-to-back games for Big Ben
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: and that offense.
• 38:34
  Speaker 3: Plexico Burrs, I believe, went off in both of those games, too.
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: And those were the two top teams in the NFL
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: at the time, too, back-to-back weeks with the Patriots and
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: the Eagles coming here into Pittsburgh. And as we know, unfortunately,
• 38:46
  Speaker 2: the Steelers did not have a lot of success against
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: the Patriots during their run so far here in Accashore Stadium,
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: whether it's here or in Foxborough. And the same against
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: the Eagles, too. Those wins have come few and far between,
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: especially in Philadelphia. a place in which they'll play later
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: this year. But it was nice to see them win
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: both of those games back-to-back for sure.
• 39:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I didn't even think about it from that aspect.
• 39:08
  Speaker 4: Those were two wins that really let you know, I guess,
• 39:12
  Speaker 4: that the Steelers were rolling.
• 39:13
  Speaker 5: Because those two have been such.
• 39:16
  Speaker 4: Bugaboos for them over the years, more so in Philly
• 39:19
  Speaker 4: than here with the Eagles, but the Patriots just about anywhere. Yeah,
• 39:23
  Speaker 4: they were both undefeated at the time, and it was
• 39:25
  Speaker 4: right around this time of year, too, that the Steelers
• 39:28
  Speaker 4: won both those games back-to-back. Speaking of back-to-back performances, another
• 39:33
  Speaker 4: one that I'll always remember, and I think a lot.
• 39:36
  Speaker 5: Of Steelers fans will, too. It's kind of fitting.
• 39:39
  Speaker 4: It was 10 years later. Ben was no longer a green,
• 39:44
  Speaker 4: promising rookie. He was an established Super Bowl-winning quarterback. but
• 39:49
  Speaker 4: there was still more to give. And it was sort
• 39:54
  Speaker 4: of in 2014, two games in a row, wins against
• 39:57
  Speaker 4: the Colts and the Ravens at home. We're talking about
• 40:00
  Speaker 4: Accresure Stadium here. It was actually a three-game win streak,
• 40:03
  Speaker 4: but those two, after beating the Texans on Monday Night Football,
• 40:08
  Speaker 4: Ben puts up six touchdown passes in each of those games,
• 40:12
  Speaker 4: still an NFL record, 12 touchdown throws in two weeks.
• 40:16
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 40:16
  Speaker 4: The 522 passing yards as they beat the Colts 51
• 40:21
  Speaker 4: to 34. That was the Andrew Luck led Colts, not
• 40:23
  Speaker 4: Peyton Manning at that point. But still, nonetheless, they had
• 40:26
  Speaker 4: those striped throwback jerseys. Your mileage may vary on that look,
• 40:31
  Speaker 4: but I'll always remember them for Ben Roethlisberger lighting up
• 40:34
  Speaker 4: the scoreboard that day with Antonio Brown. as his favorite target,
• 40:39
  Speaker 4: it was truly a thrilling day to be at that stadium.
• 40:43
  Speaker 4: And still, now it always will hold up as Ben's
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: career-high passing yard debt.
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: 522 passing yards. Incredible day for Big Ben. Six touchdowns,
• 40:54
  Speaker 2: as you mentioned. My biggest moments are the two AFC
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: title games that were at home, the first being the
• 41:00
  Speaker 2: 2010 touchdown. AFC Championship, Steelers 24, and Jets 19. But
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: the top one has to be the 2009 AFC Championship game.
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: Steelers 23, Ravens 14. Played on January 18th. One of
• 41:14
  Speaker 2: the greatest games in the stadium history. You have Troy
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: Polamalu's 40-yard pick six in the fourth quarter that pretty
• 41:20
  Speaker 2: much sealed the deal. It was one of those nasty
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: AFC North battles between the Ravens and the Steelers. And,
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: of course, the Steelers go on to beat Arizona State
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: in Super Bowl XLIII and get their sixth Lombardi trophy.
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: But I remember that stadium exploding when Paul Amalu got
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: that pick. In fact, when you ask guys like Bill Hillgrove,
• 41:39
  Speaker 2: you talk to people like Missy Matthews, who does our
• 41:42
  Speaker 2: sideline reporting, other folks in and around the team, they
• 41:45
  Speaker 2: will always tell you, Brian, that that was the loudest
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: they had ever heard at Cushore Stadium, then Heinz Field.
• 41:53
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, any home venue, unless you host the
• 41:57
  Speaker 4: Super Bowl and host your team in the Super Bowl,
• 42:00
  Speaker 4: which that did happen not too long ago for the
• 42:03
  Speaker 4: Rams at SoFi Stadium out in L.A., and I suppose
• 42:06
  Speaker 4: there's the chance that that could happen again this year. Although, hey,
• 42:10
  Speaker 4: revisit real quick. The Rams didn't make our top five
• 42:12
  Speaker 4: offenses or defenses, but yeah, I mean, any time that
• 42:15
  Speaker 4: you can host the conference title game and let a
• 42:19
  Speaker 4: home field advantage in the path to the Super Bowl
• 42:21
  Speaker 4: run through your house and you defend it. There's there's
• 42:24
  Speaker 4: no there's nothing better than that for a home venue
• 42:28
  Speaker 4: in the NFL. It's not like the NBA or Major
• 42:31
  Speaker 4: League Baseball or the NHL where you can win a
• 42:33
  Speaker 4: ring and clinch it at your home stadium or home arena.
• 42:38
  Speaker 4: So that's what the Steelers always have to hang their
• 42:40
  Speaker 4: hat on. And I on the flip side of that, Ed,
• 42:42
  Speaker 4: I did tease yesterday that I do have one Very
• 42:46
  Speaker 4: unfortunate memory of all my years attending games at Heinz,
• 42:50
  Speaker 4: then Akershire. It harkens back to that 2004 season when
• 42:54
  Speaker 4: they were 15-1 in the regular season. Ben Roethlisberger's rookie year,
• 42:59
  Speaker 4: everybody I think remembers, make it to the AFC title
• 43:02
  Speaker 4: game that year. But Tom Brady and the Patriots were
• 43:04
  Speaker 4: a buzzsaw of their own, starting to come into their own.
• 43:07
  Speaker 5: And a 41-27 loss in what was.
• 43:11
  Speaker 4: I know other people have said this to not just me,
• 43:13
  Speaker 4: one of the absolute coldest games, coldest football games in
• 43:17
  Speaker 4: the history of Pittsburgh. And, you know, I was there
• 43:21
  Speaker 4: just gritting my teeth through it. And, you know, the
• 43:25
  Speaker 4: unique part of that game for my family, at least, unfortunately,
• 43:29
  Speaker 4: is My great-grandmother passed away, I think, a day or
• 43:33
  Speaker 4: two later, so she had just gone into the hospital.
• 43:36
  Speaker 4: It's not too morbid. She was 91, so she lived
• 43:39
  Speaker 4: a long and great life.
• 43:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, but still.
• 43:41
  Speaker 4: We knew that that day was going to be coming eventually,
• 43:43
  Speaker 4: but unfortunately, it just so happened to line up with
• 43:47
  Speaker 4: the trek to the game that night. It was 11 degrees,
• 43:53
  Speaker 4: negative one wind chill. I'm looking this up now on
• 43:55
  Speaker 4: the official game book, but it sure felt colder and
• 43:59
  Speaker 4: it felt a lot colder and more miserable when Deion
• 44:03
  Speaker 4: Branch took that 23 yard touchdown run. So it was
• 44:08
  Speaker 4: it was a miserable night. Rodney Harrison had an interception return.
• 44:10
  Speaker 4: We don't need to get too far into that. But, yeah,
• 44:13
  Speaker 4: my family always talks about that night as, you know,
• 44:16
  Speaker 4: obviously the Steelers lost.
• 44:18
  Speaker 5: They would go on to win a Super Bowl a
• 44:19
  Speaker 5: couple of years later. Thank goodness. But but also the
• 44:22
  Speaker 5: night that we lost someone close to us. So that
• 44:25
  Speaker 5: that stunk.
• 44:26
  Speaker 4: But luckily, you know, there were there was more to
• 44:29
  Speaker 4: come for the AFC championship game.
• 44:31
  Speaker 5: Victories in the Ravens was one of those.
• 44:33
  Speaker 2: You know, Brian, though, you mentioned the family part of
• 44:36
  Speaker 2: that and with your family. And it's the same with me.
• 44:38
  Speaker 2: I think I told you about my first game at
• 44:40
  Speaker 2: Three River Stadium with my aunt who had season tickets
• 44:43
  Speaker 2: when I was real young. Accushore, then Heinz Field, you know,
• 44:46
  Speaker 2: being there with my cousin Todd for a couple games.
• 44:49
  Speaker 2: My two sons, Ryan and Brendan, I've taken them to
• 44:52
  Speaker 2: games there. You know, now they're starting to, you know,
• 44:54
  Speaker 2: grow into this Pittsburgh Steelers. family, and it's special just
• 45:00
  Speaker 2: for you, for me, for others out there listening, too.
• 45:02
  Speaker 2: There's so many season ticket holders that go back to
• 45:04
  Speaker 2: Three River Stadium and have carried them over into AccuShore
• 45:07
  Speaker 2: Stadium that they only see the people that sit around
• 45:10
  Speaker 2: them for those eight, nine, ten games a year, including
• 45:14
  Speaker 2: the preseason and maybe the postseason. And they build those
• 45:18
  Speaker 2: relationships and they're so solid and they're so special. So yeah, it's,
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: it is a big deal and it's a big deal
• 45:23
  Speaker 2: here in Pittsburgh. It's a big deal in every NFL city,
• 45:26
  Speaker 2: but here in Pittsburgh specifically, I mean, you can talk
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: to somebody that went to a game back in the
• 45:30
  Speaker 2: seventies and eighties of three rivers, as well as the
• 45:33
  Speaker 2: current Accushore and Heinz field, some special moments, my friend.
• 45:36
  Speaker 3: And I appreciate you sharing that with us.
• 45:38
  Speaker 4: You get to know the people in your section too,
• 45:39
  Speaker 4: when you've got season tickets and it's always the same
• 45:42
  Speaker 4: folks around you high five in and hugging when.
• 45:44
  Speaker 5: Good things happen.
• 45:45
  Speaker 4: So, Yeah, a big part of being a sports fan,
• 45:47
  Speaker 4: and Akershire Stadium has been a great place for us
• 45:50
  Speaker 4: to be sports fans over the last 25 years for
• 45:52
  Speaker 4: the most part.
• 45:53
  Speaker 2: And again, make sure you log on to Steelers.com today
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: to check out some of that special content that Brian, Teresa,
• 45:59
  Speaker 2: and Jim have provided, among other things. There's pictures, there's videos,
• 46:03
  Speaker 2: there's all kinds of good stuff. That's going to do
• 46:05
  Speaker 2: it for the show for today. Coming up tomorrow, we
• 46:07
  Speaker 2: will have our 10 terrible takes for you, as well
• 46:10
  Speaker 2: as Tom Offerman from the Blitz will be joining us
• 46:12
  Speaker 2: for a segment. And we'll also start to dive into
• 46:15
  Speaker 2: the Indianapolis Colts who come into Accresure Stadium this upcoming Sunday.
• 46:20
  Speaker 2: I'm Ed Troop alongside Brian Bacco. Thanks for listening to
• 46:23
  Speaker 2: the Steelers Report. Up next, it's Wes Shuler and Matt
• 46:25
  Speaker 2: Williamson on SNR's The Drive right here on Steelers Nation Radio,
• 46:29
  Speaker 2: part of the Steelers Audio Network.