Steelers place kicker Chris Boswell misses a second-quarter field goal attempt against the Browns at Huntington Bank Field. (Chaz Palla | TribLive)
Tuesday’s “First Call” looks at some challenges facing Chris Boswell and Max Iheanachor. We reveal Sunday’s CBS broadcast crew for Steelers-Colts at Acrisure Stadium.
And Joey Porter Jr. is already on the Dallas Cowboys injury report.
Not bothered by Boz
Steelers kicker Chris Boswell has missed three field goals in his first four games this season. He missed only five all of last year.
On Monday, Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Crossman was asked if there’s a concern with Boswell.
“There’s not. There’s an urgency to get that rectified. But I would not list that as a concern,” Crossman said. “I am not up at night worrying about Chris Boswell. But we need to get those points.”
Boswell is 7-for-10 on field goals so far. He is 6-for-6 on extra points. In May, he signed a contract extension worth $28 million over four years.
“He knows himself. A player of his caliber who has been successful, we talk. We go through a lot of things,” Crossman said. “He’s always been a self-correct guy. We’ll go through things. I’ll tell him what I see, he’ll tell me what he sees, what he feels, what he thinks, and it’s just a process of working through it.”
Two of Boswell’s misses have been over 50 yards. He has 23 makes from that distance over the course of his career, which started in Pittsburgh in 2015.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before
Joey Porter Jr. is already on the Dallas Cowboys’ injury report.
No, it’s not because of contrac … uh, his back.
This time it’s an ankle. The Cowboys have the Thursday night game this week against Tampa Bay. So the Cowboys didn’t practice Monday.
But, as was the case with the Steelers and Browns last week, Dallas and Tampa had to release an estimated injury report three days away from kickoff, and Porter was on it with an ankle. However, he was a full participant.
So was fellow Western Pa. product Malik Hooker (New Castle). The safety has a forearm injury. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb popped up with a thigh injury after his 189-yard day against Houston on Sunday.
Picked and rolled
After a training camp of hype and a strong debut against Cincinnati, Max Iheanachor struggled against the Browns. He was responsible for multiple sacks and pressures in that game.
Isaiah McGuire adds another sack for Cleveland ???? @PITvsCLE on Prime Video Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/5WJc1UHxQ4
— NFL (@NFL) October 2, 2026
Offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio insists he’s not worried.
“We’d like the protection a little cleaner. It was on the road in the noise, and the noise was real. Cleveland did a good job with their front, mixing it up with some line games, some pick stunts,” Angelichio said. “So, it was good for all of us to see. Some things we’ve got to take a look at. But I thought Max handled it pretty well, being his first game on the road in a hostile environment.”
Those pick stunts were something that center Zach Frazier warned us about during the week of practice leading into the game. But the Browns still sacked Aaron Rodgers five times.
“Everybody’s got different patterns of them each week. Whether you’re picking the guard or the center, how you get to them with the ‘mike’ mugged or three bigs to the side,” Angelichio said. “They’ll try to get five on the line and get a pick to get a free runner. Cleveland did a good job on a couple. Give them credit.”
Rodgers has been sacked 13 times this year, the most in the NFL, along with Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield.
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Top notch
The CBS broadcast crews are out for the week, and the top crew is coming to Pittsburgh for Steelers-Colts.
Jim Nantz, J.J. Watt and Tracy Wolfson will be broadcasting this game as they were for the Steelers’ road trip to New England earlier in the season. That was also a 1 p.m. start, as is the game Sunday.
Game Announcers for Week 5 of the @NFLonCBS https://t.co/4TtKVvakD0
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) October 5, 2026
Both teams are only 2-2. But as you can see above, it’s not exactly a stellar slate of games for CBS.
I find Las Vegas vs. New England to be the most compelling matchup of the day on that network. The Raiders are a surprising 3-1, and the Patriots (2-2) are coming off of a surprising win over Buffalo on Sunday.
As was the case last year when the Steelers beat Indy, 27-20, the defense is tasked with stopping Jonathan Taylor. He’s fourth in the NFL with 353 rushing yards. His six rushing touchdowns trail only Baltimore’s Derrick Henry and Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen at seven apiece.
Pittsburgh’s defense limited Taylor to just 32 yards on 14 carries a season ago. The Steelers’ “D” also accounted for five sacks of quarterback Daniel Jones. His 5.7 yards per pass attempt this season places him 28th in the NFL.