Pittsburgh Steelers

Tagovailoa had not played since suffering a concussion in Week 4, but threw a first-quarter touchdown for Raheem Mostert as the Dolphins raced to a 13-0 lead.

The Steelers rallied with 10 second-quarter points with rookie George Pickers pulling down a spectacular catch from a Kenny Pickett TD pass to make it 16-10 at half-time.

Miami's defense held firm to thwart two fourth-quarter Steelers' drives with interceptions, firstly by Jevon Holland and then Noah Igbinoghene, the latter settling a game where no points were scored in the second half. The win improved Miami's record to 4-3, sitting third in the AFC East, while the Steelers are 2-5 and last in the AFC North.

In the Steelers' last drive, Pickett had connected with tight end Pat Freiermuth and wide receiver Diontae Johnson for major gains in the final minute, before Igbinoghene's pick.

Miami's defense had only one interception all season but notched three in this game alone from Pickett's throwing with the Steelers QB completing 32 of 44 passes for 257 yards.

Tagovailoa made it four wins from four starts, with 21-of-35 passing for 261 yards with no interceptions, running four times for 15 yards.

Jaylen Waddle had four catches for 88 yards including a brilliant flying catch, while Tyreek Hill was a regular target with seven receptions for 72 yards. Touchdown scorer Mostert had four receptions for 30 yards along with 16 carries for 79 yards.

Last season's defeated Super Bowl side had a rollercoaster ride in Week 1 of the new season, quarterback Joe Burrow having five turnovers – four of which came before half-time.

It was, however, two questionable decisions from the sideline that ultimately paved the way for the Steelers' dramatic win, one of which saw Taylor's special teams unit head out with a running clock to punt the ball early.

That gave Pittsburgh enough time to get into field goal range and win it, with questions asked as to why the Bengals did not run the clock all the way down – and Taylor reasoned it was due to a change in long-snapper, after Clark Harris suffered an early injury and was ruled out.

"New operation. We snapped there with 13 seconds, I understand that, trust me, we'd rather do something different," he said after the game.

"But just trying to make sure the operation ran smoothly, it turned out that we sacrificed some seconds just to make sure that we were all on the same page there."

The Bengals may have been able to avoid overtime entirely had the team elected to challenge the play that saw Ja'Marr Chase score an apparent touchdown that was not caught by the officials, Taylor again admitting mistakes were made.

"Part of it was that that's the hardest place for us to see in the entire field is that spot. I didn't think there was a chance there was a touchdown there initially. So, we got on the ball to run it in quickly," he added.

"It's hard with all the craziness in that moment, all the communication to get that 'Stop, stop. Let's evaluate this.'

"We just couldn't get it done fast enough by the time we'd seen a replay and realised 'Oh shoot, he might have gotten in there.' We've just got to learn from those.

"It's a fine line — when you get the ball on the inch, you just want to punch it in real quick. In hindsight, maybe he was in and we could have given ourselves a chance."

The Bengals travel to Dallas in Week 2 to face a Cowboys side set to be without quarterback Dak Prescott due to injury.

Though the elite quarterbacks in the league can fit the ball into tight windows on a consistent basis, the odds of success on that side of the ball are much higher when those signal-callers are paired with receivers who can defeat man coverage and get into open space.

Excelling at finding the soft spot in zone coverage is also important, while the top play-callers in the NFL frequently engineer space for their receivers.

Yet receivers who can win one-on-one are a tremendous help to quarterbacks, especially those who can defeat the blitz regularly with their ability to efficiently read the field and find the open man.

While determining the 'best' receiver in the NFL is a subjective process that can hinge on an affinity for certain styles of play, success in beating defenders in coverage can be quantified.

Stats Perform has done so with its open percentage metric, which tracks how often a receiver gets open when they're matched up against man coverage and have enough time to run a route. Plays that break down before a matchup with a defender can take place or scramble drills where a receiver uncovers after running his initial route are discounted.

So who are the best and worst in that regard? Here we look at the top performers, some surprise names uncovering more often than perhaps expected and those who rarely separate from defenders.

THE ELITE

A year in which Cooper Kupp leads the NFL with 1,141 receiving yards has seen him established as arguably the premier route runner in the NFL.

That is reflected by his open percentage of 57.75, which is the highest of any player with more than 10 coverage matchups.

Getting open on 41 of his 71 matchups, Kupp has consistently excelled at creating separation. His burn percentage, which measures how often a receiver wins his matchup with a defender when he's targeted, of 65.2 is above the average of 60.3 for wideouts (min. 10 targets), while he is fourth in the NFL in burn yards per route (4.2).

Joining Kupp near the top of the tree is Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings. Proving his record-breaking rookie year was no fluke, Jefferson has faced 108 coverage matchups and got open on 55 of them, good for an open percentage of 50.93. 

Eleventh among receivers with a burn percentage of 73.4 and averaging 3.3 burn yards per route, there has been no sign of a sophomore slump from Jefferson, whose combination of separation ability and prowess at the catch point has turned him into one of the most dependable and dynamic receivers in the league.

Keenan Allen (53.16) is Kupp's closest challenger, the Los Angeles Chargers veteran underlining his status as one of the NFL's most underappreciated receivers by getting open at a rate that may only heighten frustrations around his team's underperforming offense.

Kansas City Chiefs star Tyreek Hill (47.78) boasts an elite open percentage that belies his underwhelming big play rate of 28.0 per cent, with Stefon Diggs' (47.62) success at getting open dispelling the notion of a drop-off from last year's receiving leader. Davante Adams (45.65) is unsurprisingly also among the league's best, yet he is accompanied by some eyebrow-raising names.

SURPRISE STUDS

It has been tough to watch an uninspired Pittsburgh Steelers offense this season and think anyone is getting open.

Almost every passing play the Steelers run seems to end in a contested catch, yet a wideout who thrives in those situations is also winning the vast majority of his coverage matchups.

Indeed, second-year wideout Chase Claypool ranks behind only Kupp and Allen in open percentage, uncovering from a defender on 35 of his 68 matchups (51.47). 

However, a burn yards per route rate of 2.5, just above the average of 2.3, and his struggles in the burn yards per target metric (10.30) indicate that, while Claypool is separating from coverage, he is not putting significant distance between himself and defenders. He will likely need to continue relying on his superiority at the catch point.

As with the Steelers, you won't find too many people who draw a sense of excitement watching a Teddy Bridgewater-led Denver Broncos offense.

There is no doubting the talent on Denver's attack. With Jerry Jeudy hurt and Noah Fant so far failing to take the second-year leap many expected, Courtland Sutton has shone brightest and is on course for a 1,000-yard season, though Tim Patrick's impact has been comparable.

Save for Kendall Hinton (47.83 on 23 matchups), it is the relatively unheralded Patrick who has proven Denver's best at separating, his open percentage of 44.44 from 90 matchups level with Dallas Cowboys star Amari Cooper.

A below-average burn yards per route of 2.0 speaks to a paucity of substantial separation, but Patrick is using the distance he is able to put between himself and defenders to create explosive plays, his big-play rate of 36.7 per cent comfortably above the average of 29.2.

Again leading tight ends in receiving yards (747), most would expect Travis Kelce of the Chiefs to top the list at that position for open percentage. Instead, it is a former AFC West standout in ex-Charger Hunter Henry.

Scoring seven touchdowns in as many games prior to being kept out of the endzone in Thursday's win over the Atlanta Falcons, Henry possesses an open percentage of 48.15. However, he has not been double-teamed this season.

Darren Waller has a double-team percentage of 17.2 and has still managed to get open 46.75 per cent of the time. The attention the Las Vegas Raiders star draws and his ability to succeed despite it illustrate his position as one of the league's biggest matchup nightmares and arguably the gold standard at tight end.

NO ROOM FOR MANOEUVRE

The Packers' offense has stuttered by its own high standards in recent weeks, with their underwhelming numbers not just a product of Jordan Love's struggles against the Chiefs.

Since Week 6, the Packers are averaging 213.2 net passing yards per game – 20th in the NFL. For the season, they are 16th in yards per pass play (6.46).

That mediocrity can, in part, be attributed to a lack of receiving depth beyond Adams, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling's issues getting open encapsulate that problem.

Valdes-Scantling is supposed to be the Packers' deep threat who can stretch defenses with his ability to separate vertically.

Open on only five of his 38 coverage matchups – a percentage of 13.16 – Valdes-Scantling is not fulfilling his role. The Packers will likely need to be more explosive in the playoffs if they are to go all the way, meaning Valdes-Scantling must up his game.

Bryan Edwards is in a similar situation in Las Vegas. Scarcely utilised last season, Edwards has seen a bump in targets in 2021, the Raiders often going to him downfield. 

Edwards' average depth of target is 17.2 yards, but he has found deep separation hard to come by, uncovering on 17 of his 111 matchups (15.32 per cent). Yet with a gaudy burn yards per target average of 15.01 and a big-play rate of 50.7 per cent that is third among receivers (min. 10 targets), Edwards is a player who takes full advantage of the little separation he gets when Derek Carr looks his way.

Edwards' former South Carolina team-mate San Francisco 49ers star Deebo Samuel is performing at the highest level of his young career. Samuel is second behind Kupp with 979 receiving yards and already has seven total touchdowns this season.

However, Samuel ranks near the bottom of the league in open percentage (15.07), with the difference between that number and his overall production a reflection of how he is used by San Francisco.

His average depth of target is 8.6 yards, below the NFL average for receivers of 11.0, speaking to the Niners' reliance on him on screens and short passes that are an extension of the run game.

Third in burn yards per route and leading all wide receivers with an average of 9.6 yards after catch per reception, Samuel takes advantage of those short targets with his speed, elusiveness and power, while he can win at the catch point downfield even without separation. The 49ers often get Samuel in space in the backfield but, for one of the league's most unique players, separation is not always a requirement.

The AFC North rivals were initially due to meet on Thursday as part of the Thanksgiving schedule, only for the NFL to move the game to Sunday amid a coronavirus outbreak in the Ravens camp.

The divisional contest was then pushed back again as Baltimore continued to move players to the reserve/COVID-19 list, among them starting quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.

On Saturday, it was announced six more - Jaylon Ferguson, D.J. Fluker, Broderick Washington, Will Holden, Khalil Dorsey and Tavon Young – had been added, taking the tally this week to 18.

The Baltimore Sun and NFL insiders reported Andrews' positive test early on Sunday, with defensive end Matt Judon then also ruled out due to the NFL's protocols during the health pandemic.

Andrews has 38 receptions for 454 yards and six touchdown catches this season, leading the way in all three categories for his team.

With so many absentees, the Ravens – who have lost three of their previous four outings to slip to 6-4 for the season - have signed Dez Bryant to their 53-man roster.

The veteran wide receiver had already played in two games this season, recording four catches for 28 yards last Sunday in the overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Pittsburgh - who go into the Week 12 game at Heinz Field with a 10-0 record - are also facing the prospect of playing without some key starters, albeit not to the same extent as their opponents.

James Conner was moved to the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Steelers on Saturday, joining defensive end Stephon Tuitt, defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs, and offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins.

On Tuesday, the Titans confirmed three players and five personnel staff had contracted COVID-19, while NFL Network reported another player had tested positive on Wednesday.

An NFL statement read: "The Steelers-Titans game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1pm ET, will be rescheduled to allow additional time for further daily COVID-19 testing and to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game-day personnel.

"Details on the new game date and time on either Monday or Tuesday will be announced as soon as possible".

Though the entire NFL preseason slate was scrapped this year, this is the first instance of a regular season game being postponed because of the COVID crisis.

With the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, New England selected Tom Brady, quarterback from the University of Michigan.

The rest is history. Six Super Bowl wins, nine AFC titles. It was a draft pick that altered the entire NFL, and it was all the more remarkable because sixth-round selections usually face a fight just to make the team.

However, sometimes players, like Brady, slip through the cracks in the draft process and a late-round diamond can be unearthed.

On the 20th anniversary of Brady's selection, we look at some of the best late-round picks in recent memory.

JULIAN EDELMAN - SEVENTH ROUND, 2009

Turns out the Patriots are good at this drafting lark and Brady is not the only late-round gem they have found.

Bill Belichick went to Kent State in 2009 to work out their quarterback Edelman, who had never run routes or caught passes before.

Edelman's pure potential intrigued Belichick, though, and he proved a shrewd seventh-round selection, initially as a punt returner and later as a wideout.

Brady's favourite target in his last few years in New England was instrumental in their Super Bowl LIII win, being named the game's MVP after making 10 catches for 141 yards.

KAM CHANCELLOR - FIFTH ROUND, 2010

Chancellor changed positions three times in four years in college and the Seattle Seahawks had already drafted one safety in first-rounder Earl Thomas when they selected the bruising Virginia Tech defensive back in the fifth.

The two would go on to form the heart of the 'Legion of Boom', one of the greatest defensive backfields of all time and a key reason why Seattle made two Super Bowls in back-to-back seasons.

Chancellor only spent eight seasons in the league and retired at 30 due to a neck injury, but the tone-setter of that great Seattle D was voted to four Pro Bowls.

ANTONIO BROWN - SIXTH ROUND, 2010

Brown wears the number 84 because 8 x 4 = 32 and 32 teams ignored him until the Pittsburgh Steelers grabbed the former Central Michigan receiver with the 195th overall pick a decade ago.

The pre-draft reports suggested he was slow, lacked size, had character concerns and didn't play elite competition in college.

Brown has since amassed 11,263 receiving yards and 75 touchdowns and was arguably the NFL's best receiver of the 2010s.

He remains out of the league today, though, with those character concerns rearing their head and ending short spells with the Oakland Raiders and Patriots last season.

RICHARD SHERMAN - FIFTH ROUND, 2011

The year after selecting Thomas and Chancellor, Seattle drafted K.J. Wright in the fourth round and cornerback Sherman in the fifth in another impressive haul.

Sherman, who started life at Stanford as a wide receiver before converting to corner, was the 34th defensive back selected in 2011, which made him "livid" and provided a sizeable chip for his shoulder.

Since then? Just the five Pro Bowls, three first-team All-Pros, one Super Bowl ring (and another two appearances) and a spot on the NFL's All-Decade team of the 2010s.

GEORGE KITTLE - FIFTH ROUND, 2017

Do-it-all tight ends who are mismatch nightmares have been en vogue ever since Rob Gronkowski took the NFL by storm, and yet everyone passed on Kittle until the San Francisco 49ers wrote down his name for the 146th pick.

In his best season at Iowa, Kittle had 314 receiving yards. Last year he had his second straight 1,000-yard receiving season in the NFL having broken the record for tight ends with 1,377 yards in 2018.

Thanks to Kittle, Iowa tight ends are being taken more seriously too as T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant were both drafted in the first round last year.

Roethlisberger, 38, underwent surgery on his right elbow in September last year, playing just two games during the 2019 season.

But the two-time Super Bowl champion is making progress and Tomlin feels the star QB will be ready to go when the new campaign begins.

"As we sit here today, we're extremely confident in his readiness. We're enjoying the process that he's going through right now," Tomlin told NFL Network on Thursday.

"Obviously he's not without his angst, the guy's coming off of a season-ending injury and surgery, but we like where we are.

"He's throwing on the rehab schedule, it's going well and we fully anticipate him being ready to go for that opener."

The NFL schedule was released on Thursday, with the Steelers beginning their season against the New York Giants on September 14.

"I've been at it a while. I haven't seen a schedule that I didn't like, particularly this time of year," Tomlin said.

"We're all football lovers and we miss competing so it's an exciting day when the schedule comes out."

Mitch Trubisky will be the Steelers’ starter Sunday when they open the season at the Cincinnati Bengals, Tomlin confirmed in a press conference on Tuesday, a day after Trubisky was voted one of the team’s five captains.

"We're just really comfortable with what Mitch has shown us," Tomlin said. "He's a guy that came to us with franchise quarterback experience. He's comfortable in those shoes. He's been the focal point of a football team, in the organization before. He's had success in doing so.

"Like I mentioned when we acquired him, he took the Bears to the playoffs two out of four years. He has a winning record as a starting quarterback. Those things were attractive to us.

"His athleticism and mobility were attractive to us. He took care of the football in-stadium, all our quarterbacks did."

Trubisky won the job over 2022 first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett, who was confirmed to be the number two option. Mason Rudolph, who is entering his fourth season in Pittsburgh, is listed third on the depth chart.

The number two overall pick in 2016 by the Chicago Bears, Trubisky spent last season backing up Josh Allen with the Buffalo Bills and signed a two-year, $14 million deal with the Steelers this offseason after the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger.

A little over a month after signing Trubisky, the Steelers used the number 20 overall pick on Pickett, who played at the University of Pittsburgh.

While it is no surprise to see the Steelers starting the more experience quarterback to start the season, many pundits and Steelers fans alike wonder if Pickett’s ascension is only a matter of time.

"I thought [Pickett’s} acceleration of development really took off once we stepped into stadiums," Tomlin said. "And once we started stepping into stadiums, his decision-making – the fluidity of it – his competitive spirit, his pinpoint accuracy, all of those things I thought really came to the forefront. I thought that he grew – and grew at a really fast pace once we got into stadiums.

"And I also think it's reasonable to expect that growth and development to continue as we push into the regular season."

The Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 26-14 on Monday to keep alive their playoffs hopes with a 8-7-1 record with one game left.

The victory also meant Tomlin will avoid a losing season for the 15th consecutive year, which exceeds Marty Schottenheimer's streak from 1984 to 1997 to begin an NFL career.

"Not as I sit here today, and I say that humbly," Tomlin told reporters when asked if the record meant anything to him. "Our agenda, this year, is to get into the single-elimination tournament and then pit our skills against others in that single-elimination tournament in an effort to win the world championship.

"That's our mentality every year and so with that mentality, it's just certain hardware that you expect to pick up along the way. If you don't, you'd be seriously disappointed. That's just an expectation that we have here in Pittsburgh."

Pittsburgh are second in the AFC North with the Cincinnati Benglas having seal the divisional title on Sunday.

Tomlin's Steelers face divisional rivals the Baltimore Ravens in the final regular season game on Sunday as both chase a victory to be in contention for an AFC wild card berth.

Tomlin remains the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl, when he led the Steelers to the title in 2009 at 36-years-old.

The unbeaten Steelers improved to 10-0 following Sunday's 27-3 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field.

Pittsburgh – who have not won the Super Bowl since 2008 following their loss to the Green Bay Packers in 2010 – are well clear of the Cleveland Browns (7-3) atop the AFC North.

The Steelers have also recorded 24-plus points in 10 consecutive regular-season games, the longest streak in single-season franchise history, but Tomlin is refusing to get carried away.

"We did the job today. We checked the boxes," said Tomlin. "It wasn't perfect. But nothing is perfect about us except our record.

"We talked openly about that last night. We want to wear it the proper way. We want to step into stadiums and be prepared to fight and compete every week and understand that we are going to get people's best shot.

"So, I liked the general attitude today. We were able to get the job done and we will get ready for our short week."

Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger completed 32 of 46 passes for 267 yards, two touchdowns and an interception away to the Jaguars in Jacksonville.

The Steelers quarterback now has eight career seasons with double-digit wins, tying Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and John Elway for fourth-most in the league, per NFL Research.

The only players with more are Tom Brady (17), Peyton Manning (14) and Brett Favre (10).

"Just focus on one week at a time, and that's what this team has done," two-time Super Bowl champion Roethlisberger said. "We're not chasing perfection, we're chasing a Lombardi [Trophy]."

Pittsburgh's attention now turns to the AFC North showdown against the Baltimore Ravens (6-4) on Thursday.

"We are back in the AFC North, in the hot kitchen on Thursday night and we are honoured to do that, to entertain on that special day and be a part of that," said Tomlin.

"We don't take that for granted. We have some work ahead of us."

The Steelers sent Ingram to the Chiefs in exchange for a sixth-round pick in next year's draft.

Ingram was in his first season with the Steelers, having spent nine years with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers.

He tallied 25 pressures for the Steelers this year, third on the team behind Cameron Heyward (42) and T.J. Watt (27).

However, Ingram had reportedly stated a desire for more playing time, which he will now hope to get for a Chiefs defense that has struggled for much of 2021.

Asked about the deal, Steelers head coach Tomlin said: "I enjoyed working with Melvin. it just didn't work out the way we envisioned, the way he envisioned.

"What the team needs is first and foremost. But from a team perspective, it's better to have volunteers than it is to have hostages."

The Steelers improved to 11-0 – the 13th team to achieve the feat in the Super Bowl era – courtesy of Wednesday's hard-fought 19-14 victory over the Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens.

It was a scrappy encounter at Heinz Field, where the clash went ahead after being rescheduled three times due to a coronavirus outbreak within the Ravens organisation.

The Steelers stand alone in the NFL, but head coach Tomlin was far from impressed with his team's performance.

"It was really junior varsity, to be quite honest with you," Tomlin said post-game. "It was in all three phases. We couldn't run the ball effectively when we needed to.

"We dropped too many significant passes, very catchable, makeable passes. We didn't make significant plays in the special teams game.

"Our kick-off coverage unit wasn't good enough. We turned the ball over. We gave up big plays in critical moments on defense. Can't have it."

Tomlin continued: "[The Ravens] converted a long run on a possession down before the half. Unacceptable. They had a 70-yard touchdown late in the game. Unacceptable.

"We're fortunate tonight. It's good to proceed with the victory. I acknowledge that. But not a lot happened tonight to be proud of or to be excited about other than that."

"We make no excuses," he said. "We seek no comfort. We didn't play well, coach well tonight."

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 36 of 51 passes for 266 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Roethlisberger was 13-0 as a starter in 2004, now he is 11-0 this season. The two-time Super Bowl champion joined Peyton Manning (2005 and 2009) as the only QBs since at least 1950 to win each of their first 11 starts in a season twice, per NFL Research.

According to Stats Perform, Roethlisberger is also the first quarterback to have four consecutive games with 250-plus passing yards and no sacks taken since Dan Marino in 1988.

"I need to be more accurate with my passes," Roethlisberger said. "I need to give them better chances to make the plays. There weren't some plays made today when they needed to be."

Mitch Trubisky has taken the majority of reps with the first-team offense during the Steelers' offseason training activities and the mandatory mini-camp that began Tuesday, and the five-year veteran told reporters he is operating with the mindset he will be the starting quarterback when Pittsburgh open the season at the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals on September 11. 

"I'm preparing to be the starter," Trubisky said. "I feel like no matter what position you're in, you should prepare [that way].

"I wouldn't read too much into [the first-team snaps], but I'm getting a lot of good reps and I'm feeling really comfortable in the offense.

"I like where we're at right now and I feel very confident."

With 50 career starts under his belt, Trubisky is the most experienced of the three quarterbacks vying to be the successor to the now retired Ben Roethlisberger, a group that includes Pickett – the former University of Pittsburgh standout taken with the 20th overall pick – and holdover Mason Rudolph.

And with the Steelers having no immediate plans to rebuild following a second consecutive playoff appearance in 2021, the 27-year-old seems to have the inside track at opening the post-Roethlisberger era under center.

The opportunity to start again played a large role in Trubisky's decision to join the Steelers on a two-year, $14million contract in March.

He went 29-21 over four seasons with the Chicago Bears from 2017 to 2020 and helped the team to two playoff appearances during that period, but he did not have his fifth-year option picked up and spent last season as a backup to Josh Allen with the Buffalo Bills.

Trubisky said the transition to a new offense and new team-mates has so far gone smoothly.

"I thought we've gotten better every day," he said. "I feel like I'm throwing the ball really well. We've put a lot in and I think the guys have handled it well. We're executing at a pretty high level right now."

While Trubisky saw Pittsburgh as a spot to potentially reestablish himself as a viable NFL starter, the Steelers are hoping the 2017 number two overall pick's arm strength is a good fit for an offense that often struggled generating big passing plays with the ageing Roethlisberger.

Pittsburgh's 6.05 yards per pass attempt in 2021 ranked 30th in the league, trailing only the also-ran Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants.

"He's been one of the quarterbacks to release it, for sure," rookie wide receiver George Pickens said. "Yeah, he's been launching it."

According to multiple reports, the second overall pick in the 2017 draft has agreed a two-year contract with the Steelers.

The former Chicago Bears quarterback spent last season as Josh Allen's backup with the Buffalo Bills having failed to live up to his draft status.

Trubisky will now get the chance to reinvigorate his career in Pittsburgh and has significant shoes to fill after future Hall of Famer Roethlisberger retired following his 18th season in the NFL.

The Steelers had been said to be in the mix for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is available for trade as the Niners get set to start Trey Lance in 2022.

But they have instead avoided sending draft capital to another team and elected to bet on their ability to harness Trubisky's physical tools, something which the Bears largely failed to do.

The Bears traded up from the third pick to the second in 2017 to land Trubisky but, save for a 2018 season in which he was part of a team that won the NFC North only to lose in the Wild Card round to the Philadelphia Eagles, his time with the team was unsuccessful.

Chicago did get back to the playoffs in 2020, a season in which Trubisky and Nick Foles alternated at quarterback, but they suffered a meek Wild Card exit at the hands of the New Orleans Saints.

In his time with the Bears, Trubisky threw for 10,609 yards, 64 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He also ran for eight touchdowns.

His final season with Chicago saw him record a pickable pass rate of 5.48 per cent, the fifth-worst among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts.

The Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 24-19 to move to 8-0 at the top of the AFC North on Sunday.

But a Pittsburgh statement revealed a COVID-19 case had been discovered in the camp, with the player immediately isolated and set to be added to the reserve/COVID-19 list.

A team spokesperson said: "We have been in contact with the NFL and medical advisors to complete the necessary contact tracing."

The Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals this week as they look to maintain their winning start in 2020.

The Vikings had led 29-0 midway through the third quarter before Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led a remarkable fightback that included three final quarter touchdowns but they left it too late to slump to a 6-6-1 record with only one win in their past five games.

Trailing 36-28 with three seconds on the clock, Roethlisberger threw for Pat Freiermuth in the end-zone but the tight end could not hold the pass under pressure from Vikings safety Harrison Smith despite getting two hands to the ball.

The Vikings had jumped the Steelers with three first-half touchdowns, as Kirk Cousins found Justin Jefferson wide open, before running back Dalvin Cook crossed twice in the second period.

Back-to-back Greg Joseph field goals extended their lead to 29 points in the third quarter before the Steelers responded with Roethlisberger finding Najee Harris in the corner for a TD.

Rookie Harris scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the season early in the last quarter, before Roethlisberger found James Washington down the middle to make it 29-20 with 12 minutes to play.

Minnesota immediately responded with KJ Osborn scoring in a 62-yard play from Cousins, who made 14 of 31 attempts for 216 and two touchdowns, only for Freiermuth to narrow the gap again, with Diontae Johnson completing the two-point conversion to make it a one-play game.

Pittsburgh almost completed a remarkable comeback as Freiermuth could not grasp the last-ditch throw from Roethlisberger who completed 28 of 40 attempts for 308 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

Despite the offense struggling, Pittsburgh forced four turnovers against a Titans side who continue to lead the AFC South but slip to 9-5 with this setback.

Linebacker T.J. Watt had 1.5 sacks to reach 17.5 for the season, establishing a new Steelers record as the home team improved to 7-6-1, getting the better of a side that blanked the Jaguars 20-0 last week.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin hailed the effort from his team to overcome their shortcomings and capitalise on their strengths, with Chris Boswell kicking four field goals and Ben Roethlisberger snatching a rare touchdown.

Roethlisberger (16-of-25 for 148 yards) also went fifth on the all-time NFL passing yards list in this game, jumping ahead of Philip Rivers with a three-yard pass to Najee Harris and boosting his career total to 63,562 yards by the end.

Tomlin said: "It's an exciting victory for us, a very necessary one. They won the battle of field position, their special teams were better than ours, but in spite of all those things I thought the guys continued to fight.

"The turnovers levelled the playing field in the second half. That was the catalyst for us to go ahead and secure victory. I like the way the guys collectively smiled in the face of adversity.

"We'll be thankful for this win. That's a really good football team we played and were able to beat today. Hopefully there's some growth associated with conquering challenges like that, and we are going to need that as we go on the road next week."

The Steelers tackle the AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs on December 26, while the Titans are back in action against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.

Lions chew up Cardinals

Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes and kept the Arizona Cardinals waiting to nail down a playoff place as the Detroit Lions sprang a huge shock with their 30-12 win.

With just one win, Detroit headed into the game against the Cardinals, who were 10-3 for the season, as heavy underdogs, despite Arizona losing last week to the Los Angeles Rams.

Goff found Amon-Ra St Brown and Josh Reynolds for touchdowns in the first half as the Lions surge to a 17-0 lead at halfway – at that point their biggest advantage at any stage of any game all season and the Cardinals' biggest half-time deficit for three years.

The lead was even wider come the end of the game, with Goff finding Jason Cabinda for another touchdown, meaning Arizona's once-firm grip on first place in the NFC West is now far from that, as the Rams (9-4) lurk.

The NFL said the result marked only the third time since 1970 that a team with the worst record in the NFL had beaten a team with the best or joint-best record, taking into account only games when the sides had already played at least eight times in the season.

It was also the third-largest win all-time by a team with nine-plus fewer wins than an opponent, per Stats Perform.

Cowboys almost there

The Dallas Cowboys moved to the brink of a first playoff appearance since 2018 thanks to a 21-6 win over the New York Giants, improving to 10-4 as they continue to lead the NFC East.

Behind the arm of Dak Prescott (28-of-37 for 217 yards and one touchdown), the Cowboys had just enough to avoid any undue worries, with the scoring all wrapped up by the end of the third quarter.

While Prescott was far from perfect, he was streets ahead of Giants starting QB Mike Glennon (13-of-24 for 99 yards) who was picked off three times by the Cowboys. Trevon Diggs had the third of those interceptions to reach 10 for the season. Glennon was eventually benched to allow Jake Fromm (6-of-12 for 82 yards) a chance to impress.

Prescott lost both of his starts against the Giants as a rookie in 2016 but has now gone 9-0 in subsequent starts against New York.

The Steelers suffered their first season sweep at the hands of the Bengals since 2009 on Sunday, stretching their winless run to three games.

The humbling defeat leaves the Steelers 5-5-1 but still within striking distance of the final AFC Wild Card spot, which is currently possessed by the Los Angeles Chargers, who defeated Pittsburgh 41-37 in Week 11.

Bengals running back Joe Mixon gashed the Steelers for 165 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Steelers have given up an average of 180.5 yards on the ground over the last four games.

Though they are still in the mix for the playoffs, star edge rusher Watt knows that will change if they cannot stem the tide on defense.

"It wasn't something any of us are proud of," Watt said. "You never want to have that feeling coming out of a game. We put it on tape and now we have to own it, move forward and know that everybody sees what just happened and what we can expect moving forward.

"We have to stop this before it continues to unravel and become a bigger issue than what it already is. We can't keep playing like this. It's absolutely embarrassing.

"We're trying to solve it and clearly we're not doing a good enough job. We have to go back to the film and everyone has to look at the film and watch themselves critically and figure out how to stop this thing because it's continuous."

Head coach Mike Tomlin shared Watt's sentiments.

"It's alarming, it is," Tomlin said of the amount of points conceded. "We're not trying to play it cool by any stretch.

"We don't play football like that, but we have been our last couple of weeks, so some adjustments need to be made."

The Steelers' final six games are all against playoff contenders. They face the Baltimore Ravens twice and also have games with the Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns.

And veteran defensive lineman Cameron Heyward is under no illusion as to how those games will turn out if the Steelers cannot make said adjustments.

Asked if this is the worst Steelers defense he has been a part of since being drafted in 2011, Heyward replied: "I don't know, I'm probably going to say yes.

"I don't look at the past. All I can do is worry about the present. There's a lot of football to be played, but if we do what we did out there today, we won't win another damn game."

All-Pro edge rusher Watt forced a fumble by Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith deep in Seattle territory with just over four minutes to play, setting up Boswell's decisive 37-yard field goal just over a minute later. 

After the teams traded punts on their opening possessions in overtime, Watt ran down a scrambling Smith at Seattle's 13-yard line and stripped the ball from the quarterback for the 20th forced fumble of his career – the most of any NFL player since Watt entered the league in 2017. 

It was fitting that defence played a key role in the outcome after both teams struggled to move the ball at times throughout the game. 

Pittsburgh opened the scoring nearly five minutes into the second quarter with a Ben Roethlisberger (29-of-40 passing for 229 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions) touchdown pass to Najee Harris and took a 14-0 lead into half-time. 

Seattle – without injured star quarterback Russell Wilson – answered after the break with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter and eventually tied the game 17-17 on a Jason Myers field goal with 12:59 remaining in the fourth. 

Boswell then hit from 53 yards with 1:29 remaining before Myers answered from 43 at the buzzer to send it to overtime – though not without controversy. 

The Steelers believed they had the game won when Seattle's DK Metcalf fumbled after a reception and Seahawks receiver Freddie Swain recovered, leaving the visitors scrambling to stop the clock for a field-goal try. 

Officials then did it for them, stopping play for a video review while Smith tried to race to the line and spike the ball. Replay confirmed the initial play was ruled correctly but the stoppage gave the Seahawks time to spike it and set up Myers' game-tying try. 

Watt's big play in overtime ultimately rendered that complaint moot. 

The Steelers held on for a 28-24 victory against their rivals on Sunday, the 7-0 start matching their best in franchise history.

Tomlin was most pleased with the mental toughness of the Steelers, who trailed the Ravens 17-7 at half-time.

"We didn't blink. I can't say enough about how proud I am of the guys in terms of their mental toughs," the head coach told reporters.

"The way they supported one another, the way they didn't fall apart in the midst of some the things that were going on. I think that is as critical as anything."

The Steelers are considered title contenders, having won six Super Bowls previously, although their last appearance was in 2010.

Tomlin is happy to see his team in a position where they are set to be the game to watch most weeks.

"You better believe it. It's an honour. It's a humbling experience," he said.

"This is what we signed up for, this is why we do what we do at this level, be it coach or player or trainer or anybody.

"You want to be in these stadiums, you want to have [Jim] Nantz and [Tony] Romo calling your game.

"You know you are in the right building. We've got respect for that. We appreciate it. We're honoured to be a part of it."

The Steelers take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9.