Steelers Not Only Team With Trouble Kicking

Good morning,

The Steelers lost one they should not have last Thursday, in part because of their kicker, but if they are looking for miserable company, they can peer across state, where the Philadelphia Eagles also lost by 23-20 Sunday to their bitter division rivals Washington Redskins when their new kicker, Caleb Sturgis, missed a 33-yard field goal and a PAT.

That dropped the Eagles to 1-3, 0-2 in the NFC East. And the Eagles are not playing with their backup quarterback.

Also, Jacksonville traded Josh Scobee to the Steelers because they preferred Jason Myers, who missed a 53-yard field goal try in regulation and a 48-yarder in overtime in their 16-13 loss to the Colts.

Onto some other Stuff:

--- Cincinnati and red-hot quarterback Andy Dalton are the surprise of the AFC North after one quarter of the season. The Bengals are 4-0 for the first time since 2005 and Dalton has a 123 passer rating with nine touchdowns and just one interception and two sacks. Dalton passed for 321 yards in the Bengals’ 36-21 victory over KC.

--- Indianapolis, one of the favorites to win the AFC this year, nearly fell to 1-3 but it pulled out an overtime win at home to Jacksonville with Andrew Luck out with a shoulder injury. As it is, the 2-2 Colts lead the crummy AFC South, where Indy has won 15 consecutive division victories, tying the 1972 and 1973 Miami Dolphins for the longest streak since 1970.

--- Kansas City, another team that was supposed to be strong this year, is 1-3, as are the dysfunctional Miami Dolphins.

--- San Diego, the Steelers’ next opponent, averages 411 yards per game, third most in the league. However, like the Steelers in 2014, the Chargers’ points do not match their yardage production because their 24-point average ranks just 15th. The Chargers are coming off an unimpressive 30-27 win at home to Cleveland.

--- As with the St. Louis Rams, the Steelers may be visiting their second city for the final time in the early going of the season because the Chargers are one of the favorites to move to Los Angeles next season. Unlike St. Louis, though, if the Chargers move, San Diego may never get another NFL team. It is a gorgeous city, but bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Mexico, the desert and soon, a two-team Los Angeles two-hour drive to the North.

--- Peyton Manning threw two interceptions Sunday and the Broncos still beat Minnesota 23-20 to improve to 4-0. It is the seventh time Manning has led a team to a 4-0 start, most of any quarterback in NFL history and three more than anyone else.

--- With 1:51 left in regulation Thursday night, the Steelers had a third-and-five at Baltimore’s 24. The Ravens lined up just 10 players on defense. The Steelers called their second timeout, bailing out that defense.

--- Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman rushed for three touchdowns again in the Falcons’ 48-21 victory over Houston, becoming the only player since the 1970 merger to rush for three TDs in each of his first two NFL starts. He leads the NFL with seven rushing touchdowns.

--- Carolina cornerback Josh Norman had two interceptions in the Panthers’ 37-23 win at Tampa Bay, or one more than all of the Steelers’ cornerbacks combined this season. Norman returned one for a 46-yard touchdown, his second of the season.

--- So now it’s reported that Josh Scobee had a quad strain before the Steelers released him. And when did that happen? Did the coaches know? Did he say anything to the team about it? Or is it merely a convenient “quad strain.’’ The injury makes no difference to the Steelers because they owe him the remaining portion of his $2.5 million one-year salary no matter what, even if he signs elsewhere.

--- A curious tidbit from Thursday night’s game is why Michael Vick did not try more than two passes longer than 20 yards. He has the arm for it and, as he showed on his 36-yard pass to Antonio Brown in the end zone that was dropped, the accuracy on the deep passes. Also, the Ravens are vulnerable to the deep pass.