Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin took a subtle shot at Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson during his Tuesday press conference when comparing the situation of playing Minnesota Vikings veteran backup QB Carson Wentz on Sunday.
The Steelers were in a similar situation when facing the Colts last year, as Richardson suffered an in-game injury and Joe Flacco came off the bench to beat the Steelers.
To say the least, Tomlin doesn’t think much of the Colts’ first-round pick in 2023. He did not want to see the wily vet Joe Flacco in that game.
“I don’t necessarily view it as a negative thing for the Minnesota Vikings, at least in the short term, that Carson is playing for them,” Tomlin said. “We were in a similar situation, a year ago we were playing in Indianapolis, and I commented to the guys, ‘Keep Richardson upright. Don’t put [Joe] Flacco in the game.’ And Flacco ended up in the game. And I think that’s oftentimes one of the things you can run into when you run into a veteran guy.”
The Steelers play the Colts in Week 9, but Richardson is currently the backup to Daniel Jones. The Colts are off to a red-hot 3-0 start also. If Richardson starts due to injury, however, I’m sure Tomlin’s quote will resurface.
The Vikings are coming off a 48-10 blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Wentz completed 14 of 20 passes (70%) for 173 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 129.8.
O’Connell was not surprised by Wentz’s standout performance on Sunday.
“I was the least surprised person in the whole building today that he was able to go out there and effectively run our offense,” O’Connell said of Wentz.
Wentz is filling in for second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The No. 10 overall choice of the 2024 NFL Draft suffered a high ankle sprain in the Vikings’ Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Wentz is 1-1 in his career as a starter against the Steelers. Both starts came during his tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles. The last time Wentz played the Steelers was in 2020, a 38-29 loss at Heinz Field. Wentz completed 20 of 35 passes (57.1%) for 258 passing yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 75.7.
In his rookie season in 2016, Wentz threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a 34-3 Eagles’ win. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
Vikings All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson isn’t the only one Tomlin’s defense will have to watch out for on Sunday. Former University of Pittsburgh wideout Jordan Addison will return for Kevin O’Connell’s team after serving a three-game suspension. The NFL suspended Addison three games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Wentz will have a slew of targets to throw to.
“He certainly has a full repertoire of targets available to him. The return of Jordan Addison, I...
