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The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0have officially won the\u00a0Asante Samuel Jr.\u00a0sweepstakes, and it became official on Wednesday. He even had his first practice session in an NFL game in over a calendar year. At this point, his goal is to just pick up this defense as fast as possible, so he can see as many snaps as possible in Week 11. He won’t need to play every down, but having that ability would be helpful. Kyle Dugger was\u00a0able to do it right after being acquired\u00a0via trade, so it’s not impossible for the newest Steeler.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In fact, Samuel might be even better than he was during his time with the Los Angeles Chargers. During\u00a0his first interview in Pittsburgh, he revealed that he got surgery for an issue that he had dealt with since he was drafted in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I was playing with [the shoulder issue] for my whole NFL career,” Samuel admitted. “It’s nothing new. I just had to get it fixed.”<\/p>\n
Despite playing with in an injury his entire career, Samuel was still a bright spot for a Chargers defense that was constantly hurt and in disarray. He only had one season where he allowed a\u00a0completion percentage higher than about 62%, and that was his final year in Los Angeles where he only played four games and allowed 12 completions on 18 attempts against him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later on, Samuel was asked if this is the best he has felt physically. He gave a very confident answer on that front.<\/p>\n
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Samuel said. “I feel great. It’s the healthiest I have ever been, because I’ve been dealing with it, and now I got it fixed, so I feel great.”<\/p>\n
If Samuel was playing with that shoulder issue throughout his entire career, and it’s finally gone, there is a real chance that the Steelers see a level of play out of him that not even the Chargers saw. Of course, this is just a one-year deal for Samuel, who is currently on the practice squad. He would need to first be called to the 53-man roster. Not only is he going to play well because of his improved health too, but also the fact that his career is on the line. He needs to show everyone that he can still play cornerback at a very high level, whether it’s for the Steelers or for any other potential suitors in free agency. Of course, him staying in Pittsburgh is the hope at this point.<\/p>\n
When the Steelers acquired Dugger prior to Week 9, Head Coach\u00a0Mike Tomlin\u00a0was forced to tone down his normally complicated scheme and build the gameplan around being as simple as possible so the new guy could understand. The result of that was the best game that he and Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin called all season long, and many players\u00a0expressed their desires to make that the normal thing.<\/p>\n
If the Steelers want to get Samuel into the fold as soon as possible, it’s fair to expect that Tomlin and Austin do the same thing for his team debut. They keep the calls simple, everyone plays fast, and it will be easier to stop Ja’Marr Chase and not let him rack up 16 catches again. If that is the case, Pittsburgh can get back on track with a division victory in Week 11 and avoid getting swept.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0are coming off their\u00a0NFL bye week, and they\u2019re heading into an\u00a0important game\u00a0against the\u00a0Denver Broncos\u00a0on the road on Sunday, November 16. While the Broncos haven\u2019t been much competition in the past, this is a different season, and\u00a0Denver has an 8-2 record\u00a0heading into the game. The Chiefs are 5-4.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s anyone who knows that the\u00a0Broncos could unseat\u00a0the Chiefs as AFC darlings, it\u2019s Chiefs franchise\u00a0quarterback\u00a0Patrick Mahomes. Denver is the No. 1 seed in the AFC West, and their quarterback,\u00a0Bo Nix, means business. The Broncos\u2019 defense is no joke, too. Denver\u2019s defense is third in points allowed at 17.3 per game, and they\u2019ve allowed the third-fewest yards in the league,\u00a0according to NFL research. The Broncos are also the\u00a0No. 1 red zone defense.<\/p>\n
So, between Nix and the Broncos\u2019 elite defense, the Chiefs will have their hands full on Sunday. Now, Patrick Mahomes is sending a clear message about the game and the team\u2019s worthy opponents.<\/p>\n
The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a difficult loss to the\u00a0Buffalo Bills\u00a0on Sunday, November 2. It wasn\u2019t a great game for Kansas City or Mahomes.\u00a0According to NFL research, the contest marked the first time in Mahomes\u2019 career he completed fewer than 50% of his passes. He also finished\u00a015 of 34 for 250 yards\u00a0with one interception. Before that game, Mahomes was just off a\u00a0three-game winning streak\u00a0for the Chiefs, which saw him completing 74% of his passes for an\u00a0average of 281 yards.<\/p>\n
Mahomes will have to perform better on Sunday, especially up against the Denver Broncos\u2019 elite defense. He\u2019ll have to make more completions and quick decisions.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the game on Wednesday, November 12,\u00a0Mahomes noted that the Broncos\u00a0are \u201cfirst in the division, and they have a couple games on us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s huge for the division, and that\u2019s always our first goal is win the division,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd so, it\u2019s a really good football team. There\u2019s no way around it, and so we have to go out there and play our best football. And I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve done that yet. So, after this bye, let\u2019s go out there, put a great week of practice together and find a way to win in a hostile environment against a great football team.\u201d<\/p>\n
He doubled down on how important this game is to the franchise. \u201cI mean, I think you understand this game is important,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the biggest thing. I mean, it\u2019s a divisional game, and they\u2019re always important. But with them having the lead and us needing to go out there and win to have a chance to win the division, I think guys understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going into the game, though, Mahomes says that guys aren\u2019t panicking. They\u2019re looking at it as any other game and want to play their best on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if we play our best football, we can play with and win against anybody,\u201d\u00a0he said. \u201cSo, we have to go out there with that mindset of, \u2018Let\u2019s play our best football this weekend.’\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s always an event when the Chiefs play the Broncos, but this game will be even bigger than usual. While it\u2019s not great that the Chiefs have a\u00a05-4 record at this point in the season, it does make for more interesting football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0have officially won the\u00a0Asante Samuel Jr.\u00a0sweepstakes, and it became official on Wednesday. He even had his first practice session in an NFL game in over a calendar year. At this point,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t