Pittsburgh

Steelers

Smith had a “preliminary call” with UNC after they let go of head coach Mack Brown. Smith attended UNC and spent a year on the staff as a graduate assistant before making his way to the NFL, making it a natural fit. He is currently reviving Russell Wilson’s career as the Steelers’ play-caller and will get some consideration for NFL head coaching vacancies in the offseason. Even if he doesn’t get a new job this time around, Smith is one more good season away from a full image rehab and a second shot as a team’s boss.

Smith said of the call, “I appreciate it, love that place. But that’s not my focus. I mean, I’ve got one of the best jobs in football right now.” The former Falcons head coach is in his first season with the Steelers and is currently leading an offense on an 8-3 team. It doesn’t sound like Smith is interested in going anywhere any time soon, although it wouldn’t be surprising if the 42-year-old wanted another crack at a head coaching gig at some point down the line.

Highsmith’s ankle injury has kept him sidelined over the last two weeks so his return to practice is a big step. Whether he is healthy enough to suit up for Week 13 against the Bengals remains to be seen but he is at least on track to return for the Steelers’ Week 14 game against the Browns.

His 21-day window will open and he was spotted practicing on Wednesday. Adams will be a part of the DL rotation for the Steelers this week assuming there are no setbacks on Thursday or Friday.

Williams has now posted back-to-back zero-target efforts, and has all of one look in three games as a Steeler. We will let you know if you have to start paying attention in fantasy again.

Both the catches and yards were Austin’s second most of the season, while the touchdown was only his third. He contributed a 46-yard grab down the field before hauling in a 23-yard scoring strike where Russell Wilson split the defense over the middle. Austin is capable of pop-up efforts like this evening, but he doesn’t do it anywhere close to frequently enough to be a reliable WR4.

The 59 yards were actually a new season high, which tells you all you need to know about how fantasy un-friendly Freiermuth’s 2024 has been. He still drew four-or-fewer targets for the seventh consecutive contest, and ninth time in 11 games. It just isn’t happening for the seam man as the Steelers try to limit Russell Wilson’s attempts and the quarterback focuses on down-field moon balls to his wideouts. Especially with all 32 teams active for Week 13, Freiermuth will be a weak TE2 despite a plus Bengals matchup.

With flurries turning into more of a snowstorm as the game progressed, Pickens had his quietest contest in five starts since Russell Wilson took over under center. One of his missed connections was an end zone misfire from Wilson where the quarterback and wideout were not on the same page. Pickens raised eyebrows on the final play of the game, a Wilson Hail Mary attempt where Pickens seemed more interested in fighting with Browns CB Greg Newsome than actually coming down with the ball. He then trash talked the Browns afterward. So it goes. The Bengals offer immediate bounce-back potential for Week 13.

Warren out-rushed Najee Harris 45-41 despite handling five fewer carries. He’s now out-gained Harris two of the past three weeks despite taking smaller workloads all three times out. Finally over his early-season injury issues, Warren is again confirming he simply has more juice than his higher-volume backfield mate. Week 13 against the Bengals’ struggling defense should be a “FLEX Warren” kind of matchup.

Harris got out-rushed 45-41 by Jaylen Warren even though Warren handled five fewer carries. After seeming to get hot in mid-October, Harris is averaging just 2.85 yards per carry over the past three weeks. That’s especially bad since it’s a 55-tote sample size. Harris just has no lateral explosiveness, while Warren is finally looking healthy after his early-season injury issues. Harris is in danger of falling out of the top 24 at running back, especially for weeks like Week 13 where no teams are on bye. The Steelers will be visiting the Bengals.