Oct 24, 2015 4 min read

Many people were surprised when Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t effusive in his praise of Landry Jones following Pittsburgh’s win last Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals.

Tomlin’s thinking, however, was simple.

Why have a “pep rally or throw a party” for Jones, the Steelers’ third-string quarterback, when seemingly everyone else was doing so?

So Tomlin didn’t praise Jones after he threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns in his first NFL action. Instead, he said that was what was expected of a professional quarterback.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Ask last week’s opponent, Arizona, for an example of what typically happens when a starting quarterback goes down.

The Cardinals were cruising along at 5-1 last year when starter Carson Palmer was lost for the remainder of the season. That left Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley at quarterback, and though Arizona cobbled together enough wins to make the playoffs at 11-5, they were quickly dismissed from the postseason by Carolina.

The Steelers are 2-1 without starter Ben Roethlisberger, but it’s been a precarious 2-1. They have struggled offensively but haven’t turned the ball over. As a result, their defense has kept them in each game without Roethlisberger, a formula they hope to continue today at Kansas City.

The only problem is that Jones will make his first career start. Though Mike Vick was struggling last week, Jones had no expectation of entering the game until Vick was injured. After all, Vick struggled the previous week at San Diego until the fourth quarter, when he engineered a pair of touchdown drives to win the game.

This time, Jones had all week to think about playing.

The Steelers might not be as cautious with Jones as they were with Vick. Jones has been around for three seasons while Vick had been around for only a month. Jones has a better grasp of the offense, though the Steelers won’t know how he’ll respond to being in what figures to be a hostile environment.

Kansas City is offensively challenged. The Chiefs have scored only 12 touchdowns, five of which were scored by running back Jamaal Charles, who is out for the season with a knee injury.

Without Charles, the Chiefs might have the worst offense in the NFL.

If Jones protects the football, the Steelers, who are 3-point underdogs, should escape Kansas City with a win.

Pittsburgh is 10-2 without Roethlisberger against teams not named the Baltimore Ravens.

Take the Steelers, 24-19

Tampa Bay is coming off a bye. I’ll take the underdog.

Take Tampa Bay, 23-20

The Patriots will lose at some point. It won’t be here, but it will be close.

Take the Jets to cover in a 31-24 loss

The Cardinals got embarrassed last week by the Steelers. Back-to-back long trips for the Ravens, who played at San Francisco last week.

Take Arizona, 30-16

The Panthers rallied to win at Seattle last week. Let down?

Take Philadelphia, 26-20

The Falcons have been off for more than a week after losing a Thursday night game.

Take Atlanta, 34-21

Another game in London. I’ll go with the Bills.

Take Buffalo, 24-17

An unpredictable series, even with the Cowboys depleted.

Take Dallas to cover in a 23-20 loss

The Dolphins might have righted the ship under new coach Dan Campbell.

Take Miami, 26-21

The Browns will struggle against the Rams’ pass rush and running back Todd Gurley.

Take St. Louis, 24-17

Detroit won last week but still makes too many mistakes.

Take Minnesota, 25-20

Colts haven’t won a game outside their division, until this week.

Take Indianapolis, 30-21

The battle of Los Angeles? Both teams want to move there.

Take Oakland to cover in a 24-22 loss

Last Week: 8-5-1 ATS; 10-3 Straight up

Overall: 49-35-3 ATS; 62-24 Straight up

F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.