PITTSBURGH — Several former Pittsburgh Steelers players are set to compete in Conference Championship Weekend, hoping to give their team the edge and head to the Super Bowl in 2025.

The Steelers have former representatives on all four teams compete in the AFC and NFC Championships, with their most represented roster coming by the Kansas City Chiefs with five former players on their team.

In the AFC Championship game, former Steelers include: quarterback Chris Oladokun, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, cornerbacks Steven Nelson and Darius Rush, kicker Matthew Wright, and quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

Trubisky is the only member of the Bills, with the other five playing for Kansas City. Oladokun, Nelson and Rush are both on their practice squad.

In the NFC Championship game, the Steelers have four former players, and somewhat of the same scenario as the AFC. Quarterback Kenny Pickett will be the lone former Steelers on the Philadelphia Eagles, while the Washington Commanders have three players – running back Jeremy McNichols, linebacker Mykal Walker and offensive tackle Trenton Scott.

A former Steeler is guaranteed to walk away a Super Bowl champion in 2025, with Smith-Schuster looking to win his second and Oladokun looking to win his third.

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Syracuse gave up an 8-0 run to Pittsburgh before the midpoint of the second half, granting the guests a lead they would never give back, and lost at the JMA Wireless Dome, 77-73. The Orange (9-11, 3-6 ACC) had knotted the game at 45 a side just over seven minutes after halftime, but permitted the Panthers (12-6, 3-4) to score on their next four possessions.

Jaland Lowe scored three of those baskets for Pitt, all in the paint, as part of his 17-point explosion in the second half. Lowe finished with 22 points to pace the guests, leading five double figure scorers as the Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak in conference play.

Pittsburgh shot 58.1 percent from the field in the second half, including getting nine field goals on 13 attempts inside the restricted area. SU shot just 40.3 percent for the game and only 37.8 percent in the second half, offsetting a 48-30 rebounding advantage. Eddie Lampkin was responsible for a lot of that board work, as he grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds, including eight of Syracuse’s 20 offensive boards.

The Orange got out to their hottest offensive start of the season, answering Pitt’s opening basket by hitting their first five shots, including connecting three times from 3-point range, to jump out to a 13-4 lead less than three-and-a-half minutes after the opening tip. The Panthers responded with a 13-3 run shortly afterward to go back on top at 19-18 with 11 minutes left in the opening half.

SU’s bench responded with ten of the next 14 points in the game, as Petar Majstorovic (five), Chris Bell (three), and Jaquan Carlos (two) put the hosts back in front, 28-23. Both offenses went into hiding for most of the rest of the half, and Syracuse held a 33-32 edge at intermission.

The Orange answered a Pittsburgh score with a Lucas Taylor lay-up and a J.J. Starling 3-pointer to grab a quick four-point advantage, but promptly gave up seven straight to the visitors to fall into a 41-38 hole just over three minutes out of the break. SU fought back to knot the score, but the Panthers ran off eight straight for a 53-45 lead.

Once again, Syracuse pushed back, getting an off-balance shot from Taylor and a corner 3 from Bell to draw within 53-50 and force a Pitt timeout. The break worked, allowing the Panthers to quickly rebuild their eight-point advantage.

The Orange did not go away after the guests nudged the lead to nine, chipping away to get within 65-61. A couple Taylor foul shots pulled SU within three 90 seconds later, but Pittsburgh replied with a tripe to double that lead to 70-64.

SU kept grinding away, eventually getting within 73-71 on Bell’s fourth 3-pointer of the game. The Panthers rose to the challenge in the waning seconds, making two sets of foul shots to hold off the final Syracuse push.

Starling led a balanced attack for the Orange with 16 points. Bell and Taylor each supported him with a dozen points, the former doing all of his work from behind the arc. Lampkin and Majstorovic each chipped in with ten points.

Lowe’s outburst also led five double-digit performers. Ishmael Leggett added 16 points to the Pittsburgh offense while Cameron Corhen dropped in a dozen. Zack Austin and Damien Dunn added ten points apiece.

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