Let's get to it:
DAVE KITLAK FROM UHRICHSVILLE, OH: Does Miles Killebrew play special teams exclusively? If not, what are his non-special teams snap counts this season?
ANSWER: During his previous three seasons with the Steelers, in addition to special teams Miles Killebrew played 44 defensive snaps in 2021, 13 defensive snaps in 2022, and 111 defensive snaps in 2023. Through three games in 2024, Killebrew has played 56 snaps on special teams and none on defense.
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MARK LEDVINA FROM MARION, IA: I know at the end of the game if a team has to attempt an onside kick they line up accordingly, but what if a team wants to attempt one during the middle of the game?
ANSWER: This is from a story posted on NFL.com on Sept. 5: "Gone are the days of surprise onside kicks. Teams are now only permitted to onside kick in the fourth quarter when trailing and must be declared to the officials prior to attempting them."
GAYLE DYE FROM HOUSTON, TX: Could you please explain why a delay-of-game penalty was called on the Steelers defense in the Chargers game?
ANSWER: Apparently, Keeanu Benton mimicked the Chargers' snap count in some way, and that is a penalty on the defense for delay of game.
VINCE SCOTTI FROM COLUMBIA, SC: I did want to comment on your answer to the question about a Steelers backup quarterback doing better than Justin Fields. Wasn't there a guy named Ben Roethlisberger who did much more than Fields or Mike Kruczek?
ANSWER: In attempting to answer the question about whether the Steelers ever had a quarterback win his first three starts the way that Justin Fields has, I saw a direct comparison with Mike Kruczek, because neither Fields nor Kruczek played at all for the team before filling in because of injury to the starter. Yes, Ben Roethlisberger put together a much longer winning streak as a starter in 2004, but his first on-field action had come in relief of Tommy Maddox the week before in a loss to the Ravens in Baltimore. That was my thinking in answering the question the way I did.
SCOTT BAETE FROM SIOUX FALLS, SD: Not a question for you but for those who don't understand why we didn't "let Najee Harris score" at the end of the game. What if the team did that and someone got hurt on a meaningless play? Would you then be complaining about why didn't they take a knee? This is reality football, not fantasy football, or a video game. To try to score again in that scenario not only would be disrespectful to the opponent, but also to our own players and the game in general.
ANSWER: Thank you.
GIO CALABRO FROM EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ: I know the answer to this question is a matter of opinion, but I greatly respect yours. I'd say Mel Blount and Rod Woodson are the best defensive backs in Steelers history. Can you compare their career stats, and which one would you choose as the best?
ANSWER: Mel Blount played 14 NFL seasons, and during that time he played in 200 regular season games with 189 starts, and he finished with 57 interceptions, and 13 fumble recoveries. He was voted the 1975 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Rod Woodson played 10 seasons with the Steelers – he played another 7 seasons with San Francisco, Baltimore, and Oakland. During his time in Pittsburgh, Woodson played in 134 regular season games with 125 starts, and he finished with 38 interceptions, 21 fumble recoveries, and 13.5 sacks. Both were great players, both were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot, and both were better than the overhyped Deion Sanders, in my opinion. But if forced to choose one, I would go with Blount for the simple reason that he played his entire career with the Steelers (which translated into better statistics), while Woodson did not. Of course, Blount played in the era before the NFL had free agency.
TIMOTHY ESHELMAN FROM LEWISBURG, PA: Historically, a game matching an NFC team vs. an AFC team was televised by the network of the visiting team (e.g., AFC team by CBS and NFC team by FOX). I've noticed this year and possibly last year that this is not always the case anymore. When did this change and is there any logic now as to which network carries the inter-conference game?
ANSWER: In the last contract the NFL negotiated with its broadcast partners, one of the provisions that was included was the option to flex games by network. That is when the traditional way of broadcasting all games became muddled. As examples, this weekend, the Cincinnati (AFC) at Carolina (NFC) game will be broadcast at 1 p.m. on FOX; Minnesota at Green Bay (two NFC teams) will be broadcast on CBS; and New England (AFC) at San Francisco (NFC) will be broadcast on FOX.
STEFAN PISOCKI FROM WILMINGTON, DE: While watching the All-22 footage of the Chargers game, I saw defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal lined up as one of the outside linebackers. On at least one occasion, he dropped back into pass coverage. Am I correct in assuming that he has never done this before?
ANSWER: You are not. In 2022, a season when T.J. Watt missed seven regular season games because of injury, DeMarvin Leal saw some playing time at outside linebacker. During that season, he was credited with 3 passes defensed. Because of what Leal showed the coaching staff during that season, he has worked some at outside linebacker during each of the previous two training camps. Now with Alex Highsmith injured, and Markus Golden having retired after a brief return to the team in August, Leal is seen as an option for some playing time at outside linebacker behind Watt and Nick Herbig.
EREZ BAB FROM SEA OF GALILEE, ISRAEL: I have 2 questions. What is the difference between RPO and play-action? What is the difference between passer rating and QBR? And on a personal note, many thanks to you, the Steelers organization, and the entire Steelers Nation for a blissful distraction during these challenging times. May peace be upon us all.
ANSWER: The RPO (run-pass option) is a play where the offense is able to either run or pass depending on how the defense is aligned before the snap and how it reacts once the ball is snapped. In the NFL, RPOs are more restricted than they are in college football because of the ineligible man downfield penalty often called on offensive linemen, and so the passes that happen from RPOs must develop quickly. QBR is a quarterback rating system developed by ESPN that supposedly "incorporates all of a quarterback's contributions to winning, including how he impacts the game on passes, rushes, turnovers, and penalties." The issue with QBR is that since it was developed by ESPN, the network won't release the formulas and procedures used to calculate QBR. Passer rating is the NFL's procedure for evaluating a quarterback's performance, and while it has its shortcomings, it's not a secret as to which metrics are used and how the numbers are crunched to arrive at "passer rating." Please don't ask me to explain the metrics and how the numbers are crunched to determine passe rating, because all I do is use a website that allows me to plug in the numbers, click on the "calculate" icon and have the passer rating come up on the screen. Thanks for checking in, and please stay safe.
PATRICK CHARLES FROM WILLMAR, MN: Why isn't anyone talking about the Steelers defense? Have they ever held any other team to minus-5 yards for an entire half?
ANSWER: I'm happy to try to answer your question, but please don't try that "why isn't anyone talking about the Steelers defense" stuff, because it's just not true. Here are some statistics and how they compare, courtesy of Michael Bertsch of the team's PR department, surrounding the Steelers defensive performance vs. the Chargers:
• The Steelers limited the Chargers to 10 first downs, 168 total yards and just 3.7 yards per play. The 168 total yards allowed by Pittsburgh are the fewest yards allowed since Week 2 of 2011 vs. Seattle (164). Pittsburgh's defense held the Chargers to only 61 rushing yds, including 13 yds in the second half.
• The 13 rush yds allowed by the Steelers in the second half are the fewest allowed in the second half since Week 15 of 2022 at Carolina (7 rushing yards). The Steelers limited the Chargers to minus-5 yards of total offense in the second half of its 20-10 win in Week 3.
• The minus-5 yards of total offense in the second half are the fewest allowed in a half by Pittsburgh since Week 15 in 2001 vs. Detroit (minus-7 yards in the second half).
