We are somehow at ground zero while simultaneously being on grounds walked before for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh has lost five of its last seven, sparking yet another collapse in the back half of the season – I’ll be doing a piece on the history of collapses over the last two decades, so keep an eye out for that.
Pittsburg, PA
Varsity & JV: Winners and losers from Steelers loss to Bills
In the meantime, though, let’s get through what will be a very brief edition of Varsity and JV.
Echols had a terrific first quarter. He read the screen to Khalil Shakir on the first drive perfectly (even if the pass was incomplete) and picked off Josh Allen to end the Bills’ first drive. He also had two pass deflections on the night.
Herbig had two tackles for loss and was in on the fumble by James Cook recovered by Patrick Queen.
EDGE T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith
Zero sacks on backup tackles. Good thing the Steelers made sure Watt made more money than Myles Garrett for him to not even be half as good as the Browns’ star. As for Highsmith, he’s constantly injured and isn’t as good as Herbig. If the Steelers do finally rip the band-aid off this offseason, Watt and Highsmith should both be traded.
The Bills ran for 249 yards, which is the most in the history of Acrisure Stadium. James Cook took the first play from scrimmage for an 18-yard gain, and that set the tone for the evening. Mina Kimes of ESPN posted a screenshot that summarized the game of Ray Davis having a two-lane highway to run through.
Who played well offensively? Kenneth Gainwell made a pretty nice one-handed catch, but that’s the only notable offensive play that comes to mind. The receiving corps is worse than it was in 2024, DK Metcalf couldn’t separate a yolk from an eggshell, and the Steelers totaled just 166 yards of offense. Additionally, Aaron Rodgers and the pass-catchers never being on the same page is taking a big toll on the offense.
Rudolph went 0-for-3 and threw an interception that had as much hang time as a punt. Hopefully that ends any cries from the portion of the fanbase begging to see Rudolph “get a shot.” Nice guy, solid backup, but he’s not a starting NFL quarterback.
Smith is far down the list of the biggest problems with the Steelers, but Sunday was brutal. A bad play call inside the red zone to run on 4th-and-short that killed a scoring chance. Pittsburgh couldn’t run the ball against one of the worst rush defenses in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers completed less than 50 percent of his passes. The offense was awful from top to bottom.
He is the worst defensive coordinator in football. There is a reason he was fired by both the Lions and didn’t last a season with the Bengals. He’s not a capable defensive coordinator, and the case for that claim gets stronger by the week.
This needs to be the end. He can’t be back in 2026. The scheme is stale, the message is falling on deaf ears, and everyone looks checked out. In a season where the AFC North was begging the Steelers to win it, Tomlin missed the dunk.
The fans are the ones who suffer more than anyone. Mediocre season after mediocre season. Collapse after collapse no matter who is the offensive coordinator or quarterback. And guess what? It’ll probably be more of the same next season because Art Rooney’s fear of life after Mike Tomlin is greater than his desire for a winning football team. The fans deserve better, and hopefully real changes will be made in the offseason.
Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
Pittsburg, PA
Judge calls Pittsburgh crash death ‘textbook example’ of why DUI is illegal
No one showed up in court for either side.
Not for the victim, a 33-year-old immigrant killed in Pittsburgh last year by a drunken driver.
And not for the defendant, a 22-year-old woman who created a good life for herself and her twin sons despite a string of difficult life circumstances, including an incarcerated father and a mother with mental illness.
Maria Davis, of Uniontown, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault and driving under the influence after police say she crossed the center line on Beechwood Boulevard last year, crashing head-on into Abdulaziz Sharibbaev and killing him.
Sharibbaev lived in Pittsburgh’s Westwood section at the time of his death. Law enforcement could not confirm where he emigrated from and were unable to reach any relatives for the court proceedings.
As part of a plea agreement, Davis will serve 16 to 32 months in custody to be followed by two years probation. Her attorney asked the court to allow his client to enter an alternative housing program, which the judge said she will consider after Davis has served at least 12 months.
She must also pay $3,500 in mandatory fines.
Davis was driving a black Hyundai sedan north on Beechwood Boulevard toward Squirrel Hill around 12:30 a.m. on March 11 when she crossed the center line and struck a silver Toyota Prius head-on, according to a criminal complaint.
Sharibbaev, who was driving the Prius, had to be extricated by medics.
He died from his injuries five days later.
Both Davis and a passenger in her car were taken to local hospitals. The passenger sustained facial injuries and fractures from being thrown into the windshield.
A blood test showed Davis had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.163% — more than twice the legal limit for driving of 0.08%.
She also had marijuana in her blood, police said.
Birthday celebration
Defense attorney Adam Bishop told Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Simquita R. Bridges that his client had been raised primarily by her great-grandmother after her father was incarcerated and her mother could not care for her.
After her great-grandmother became ill, Davis had to return to live with her mother at age 14, Bishop continued. Three years later, she moved out.
Davis had no prior criminal history and worked as a certified nursing assistant at a facility in Uniontown, Bishop said.
The night of the crash, she and friends were going out to celebrate her birthday.
Davis had gotten a babysitter, drove to Pittsburgh and attended a baby shower that day before checking in to a hotel room.
At the shower, Davis had a shot of tequila and shared a glass of wine, Bishop said. Then, when Davis returned to the hotel to get ready for her night out, she had a couple more shots.
Davis and her friend arrived at a bar called Eon in Homestead and were waiting outside in line for more than 90 minutes when a fight broke out, Bishop said.
One of the men involved made threats, Bishop told the judge, and fearing he would return with a gun, Davis and her friends left.
Although she had not planned to drive any more that night, Davis got in her car to follow another friend to a bar in Greenfield, the attorney said.
The two vehicles got separated in traffic, Bishop said, and the friend texted Davis the address for the bar.
She was trying to type the address into the GPS on her phone when she crossed the center line and crashed, according to Bishop.
“It was that act of distracted driving, in conjunction with her intoxication,” Bishop said, that caused the crash.
Bishop described Davis as extremely remorseful and said she accepts full responsibility for her actions.
“She got dealt some bad cards in life,” Bishop said, but still managed to make a good life for her sons, who will turn 2 next month.
“One night can change everything,” he said.
A ‘poor decision’
No one was in court to describe the impact of Sharibbaev’s death.
Davis told the judge she is sincerely sorry.
“I would never purposely hurt somebody,” she said. “I ask that his family accept my apology. For as long as I live, I hope they can forgive me at some point.”
Davis told the court she is trying to learn from what happened.
“I tried all my life to be a good person and stay on the right path,” she said. “This night, I just made a poor decision.”
But Assistant District Attorney Jameson Rohrer said it wasn’t just one bad choice.
“This was a series of decisions that (ended) a man’s life and permanently changed the lives of the defendant and her children,” he said.
Bridges agreed.
“You are a textbook example of why drinking and driving is illegal,” the judge said. “Good people sometimes make bad choices. That doesn’t make you a bad person.
“Your life isn’t over because of this. You can pick yourself up and move on.”
Pittsburg, PA
Man’s body found underneath trailer behind former Shop ‘n Save in Carrick
Pittsburgh Police detectives are investigating after a man’s body was found underneath a trailer behind the former Shop ‘n Save store in the city’s Carrick neighborhood.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said late Monday night that detectives from the Violent Crime division responded to the area of Amanda Street and Wynoka Street in Carrick after a man’s body was found around 8:30 p.m.
Public Safety said the man’s body was found underneath a trailer and that he was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.
A photo provided by Pittsburgh Public Safety shows officers surrounding a taped off area and what appears to be a refrigerated trailer parked at the loading dock along Amanda Street behind the former Brownsville Shop n’ Save, which closed its doors last month.
No details surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death were provided by Public Safety, who said that the cause and the manner of the man’s death will be determined by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The man’s identity has not been released.
Public Safety said the investigation into the man’s death is “ongoing.”
Pittsburg, PA
Record number of peregrine falcons counted in Allegheny County
In the early 1960s, the peregrine falcon population declined so sharply that the raptors weren’t even nesting in Pennsylvania. But now, the National Aviary says a record number have been counted in Allegheny County.
The National Aviary says six peregrine falcons were recorded in the county during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The nation’s longest-running citizen science project collects data on bird populations for ornithologists, the aviary says. It also plays a role in guiding conservation action, like what was needed to bring peregrine falcons back from the brink of extinction.
Because of the use of DDT, peregrine falcons were no longer nesting in the state of Pennsylvania by the early 1960s, the aviary said. But after the harmful pesticide, which negatively affects reproduction rates in birds, was banned in 1972, conservation efforts have helped the peregrine falcon rebound. It was removed from the federal endangered species list in 1999 and Pennsylvania’s list in 2021.
The record number of peregrine falcons in Allegheny County is thanks in part to the nest on top of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. For the past two years, biologists with the Pennsylvania Game Commission have banded chicks born in the nest. Three were banded last year, and two the year before that.
People can watch Carla and Ecco raise their family in the nest on a livestream camera run by the National Aviary. Carla laid her first egg of the breeding season on March 16 last year, so the aviary says the start of another season isn’t too far away.
-
World6 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts6 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO6 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon4 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Florida3 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Maryland3 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Culture1 week agoTry This Quiz on Thrilling Books That Became Popular Movies