The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
BRIAN MATTOX FROM GRANITE FALLS, NC: Why wasn't DeShon Elliot just given a warning instead of an almost $6,000 fine for wearing a black towel during the game against the Vikings? It's a stupid, nitpicky rule that had no effect on the outcome of the game.
ANSWER: While I understand the need for the NFL's "uniform code," I also can agree with your point that many of the fines can be nitpicky and expensive. But in terms of procedure, the league does have a uniform inspector on site at every game, and according to operations.nfl.com, "The uniform inspector's job is to make sure that every player in violation of the rules is aware of it and has an opportunity to correct it." Based on that, I would have to assume there was some kind of a warning given to DeShon Elliott about the black towel. If there was not a warning given, I would think that would serve as solid grounds for an appeal of the fine.
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KEITH MILLER FROM CANTON, NC: The Steelers seem to be scoring on their first drive of the game more frequently. Will you give us a breakdown comparing the last few years? Second, we are scoring TDs from the red zone more frequently. Again, compare that to the last few years, please.
ANSWER: From the time Ben Roethlisberger retired at the end of the 2021 season until the start of the 2025 season – a span of 51 games – the Steelers scored touchdowns on their opening possession of a game 5 times. So far this season, this is how their first possession in each game ended – in chronological order: touchdown, field goal, touchdown, punt. To date, the Steelers are 9-of-13 in the red zone (69.2 percent), and in 2024 they converted 48.2 percent; in 2023 they converted 47.6 precent; in 2022 they converted 51.9 percent.
KENNETH YOKEM II FROM SPRINGFIELD, IL: One of my favorite Steelers games to reminisce about happened during week 10 in 2018 when they defeated the Carolina Panthers, 52-21. In the last 10 years, how many times have the Steelers scored more than 40 points, and how many of those ended in wins?
ANSWER: During the 10 full seasons from 2015-24, the Steelers scored 40-or-more points 7 times: twice in 2015; once in both 2016 and 2017; twice in 2018; and once in 2024. They won all of those games.
WILLIAM ANDERSEN FROM LOUISVILLE, KY: With the Steelers coming off the bye, do you see more playing time for Kaleb Johnson? I think the team needs to get him more reps. I know it has to do with pass blocking and confidence, but the kid looks good when he runs the ball.
ANSWER: In their most recent game, the Steelers ran the football more effectively than they had at any point during the 2025 season. And that is going to have to continue moving forward as they work to get themselves into the playoffs and then try to make a run in the postseason. It makes no difference who is carrying the ball as long as the running game is effective. They don't "need" to force-feed the ball to anyone. Coach Mike Tomlin has said he has no plans/interest in burying Kaleb Johnson for his gaffe on that kickoff return, and so there will be opportunities for him moving forward, but I believe those opportunities will come naturally over the course of the season.
TIM SIVERD FROM SOUTH HILL, VA: Now that Kenneth Gainwell has proven himself as a capable running back, will he get more carries when Jaylen Warren is healthy? I thought the two-back system worked well last year, or will we revert to the bell cow system?
ANSWER: I don't know if these kinds of questions are fantasy league related or what, but if the Steelers' running attack continues as it did against the Vikings and if the offense is possessing the ball, the carries are going to take care of themselves. I believe the sense within the team is that it has 2 capable veteran running backs in Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, and a rookie with some promise in Kaleb Johnson.
PETE McCAW FROM ABSAROKEE, MT The Minnesota Vikings playing back-to-back games in Europe seems like a big ask for an NFL team (adjusting sleep schedules, travel, practice venues, etc.). Has this ever been done before and do you see this as a pattern in the following seasons?
ANSWER: The 2025 Vikings are the first team to play back-to-back International Games, and regarding the team's reasoning for accepting the assignment, Kevin Seifert wrote the following that appeared on ESPN.com on Sept. 24: "A 10-day, two-city international trip imposes an unprecedented logistical challenge and runs counter to the instincts of every routine-oriented coach and player. But as those league friends soon found out, the Vikings actually wanted to do it.
"Although they are the visiting team in both cases, against the Steelers in Dublin and the Browns in London, the team's market research and branding efforts have indicated strong local support in both cities. Keisha Wyatt, the Vikings' director of international marketing, estimated that 40 percent of the crowd at Dublin's Croke Park and up to 60 percent at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be Vikings fans.
"Those proportions would effectively neutralize two of the nine road games the Vikings otherwise would have played in 2025. And because they are scheduled in consecutive weeks, the Vikings will remain overseas, making only a 90-minute flight from Dublin to London in between. Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf have aggressively pursued international outreach, having claimed jurisdiction in the United Kingdom as an original participant in the NFL's Global Markets Program, and they eagerly accepted when the league proposed the possibility during the schedule-making process."
GARY WILLIAMS FROM CLINTWOOD, VA: I have two questions: what was in the deal for WR George Pickens, and how long is the contract DK Metcalf signed with the team?
ANSWER: The Steelers sent WR George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys and a sixth-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. Upon acquiring DK Metcalf, the Steelers signed him to a 4-year contract extension that binds him to the team through the 2029 NFL season.
ZACH GIFT FROM PITTSBURGH, PA: Are you worried about how little Pat Freiermuth has been involved in the offense?
ANSWER: I am not. I believe in Aaron Rodgers' ability to get the ball to the correct receiver based on the coverage the particular opponent is playing. When the quarterback is seeing the field as Rodgers is and completing passes at 68.5 percent with a rating of 102.6, and the team is winning, I don't particularly care who is being targeted.
JIM MIKOLAY FROM NATRONA HEIGHTS, PA: One of the more common questions a fan might see in a forum like this is, "Why don't the Steelers use this guy more, or that guy more?" So with that thought in mind, and me not knowing basically anything about how the Steelers or any other team goes about scheming or planning for their games, are you aware if teams ever scheme a game by leaving a guy out? In other words, is saving a guy or two for a more prominent role later in the season a way that teams plan?
ANSWER: My opinion is that since there are only 17 games in an NFL regular season and that playoff berths can be earned/lost via tiebreakers, each game is too important for a team to view it as an opportunity to "save" a guy who is healthy and able to contribute to a winning performance.
CJ McMUNN FROM FRANKLIN, TN: Before the 2024 season Joe Burrow complimented T.J. Watt by saying (paraphrasing) "He's the only rusher that I have to treat like a DB." Fast forward to Ireland, and T.J. bats a pass to himself for an incredible interception. I don't recall T.J. having many picks, but maybe I'm forgetting. Has he done that before? And if so, does he have any defensive touchdowns?
ANSWER: In 125 career regular season games, T.J. Watt has 8 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries for a total of 21 takeaways. Watt has just 1 defensive touchdown, and that came on a 16-yard recovery of a strip-sack by Alex Highsmith on Deshaun Watson on a Monday Night Football game vs. the Browns on Sept. 18, 2023. Watt's touchdown provided the deciding points in a 26-22 victory over Cleveland.
ITHAN ZIMMER FROM EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ: I don't know all the intricacies of how players come back from the Reserve/Injured list. However, Cory Trice is one listed as "Designated for Return." How is that different from the other list? With the injury issues currently affecting the defensive backfield, could he return in the very near future?
ANSWER: Over the course of a regular season, each team is allowed 8 moves to designate a player to return from injured reserve. Because Cory Trice Jr. was put on injured reserve as part of the series of moves the Steelers used to get down to the 53-man roster limit at the end of the preseason, he automatically received one of their designated to return slots. My guess would be that the Steelers did it that way with Trice because they knew his injury was not in the season-ending category and that they didn't want to expose him to waivers and risk having him claimed by another team. Because Trice now has missed 4 regular season games, the Steelers are able to start his 14-day practice clock toward a return to play. We'll see if that happens this week once the team returns to practice on Wednesday for the Oct. 12 game against Cleveland at Acrisure Stadium.
PAUL GROSSOEHME FROM WASHINGTON, PA: On the play against the Vikings where Broderick Jones recovered and advanced Aaron Rodgers' fumble, how are those yards accounted for statistically? Would Jones be credited with a carry and rushing yards?
ANSWER: On the play you describe, Broderick Jones was credited with a fumble recovery, but there was no carry and yardage assigned to his run. Those somehow are incorporated into what I would refer to as the nebulous category of miscellaneous yardage.
