The Post-Big Ben Era | Pittsburgh Steelers, 2021-????

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Rosters: StayODD
Sliders: Mark Lowe
Start date: 2021 Re-sign period

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Roethlisberger announces retirement

A new era to begin in Pittsburgh


Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers' all-time passing leader, will call it quits.

PITTSBURGH — After 17 years, it's time for Ben Roethlisberger to hang up the cleats.

In a brief letter to Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert, Roethlisberger, who has led the team since he brought the Lombardi Trophy to Pittsburgh during his 2005 rookie season, said injuries and age were the main factor to his decision to call it quits.

"I'd like to thank the Steelers for giving me not only a chance, but a home," Roethlisberger said. "After two decades, it's time for me to spend more time with my family."

Big Ben, a two-time Super Bowl champion, will end his career atop the Steelers leaderboard in nearly every passing metric. With 59,303 passing yards, he'll retire just behind Dan Marino with the seventh-most all-time yards. His 388 touchdown passes will situate him eighth all-time in the NFL.

"Ben was an important part of this team from the time I joined," head coach Mike Tomlin said. "He'll be sorely missed."

With Roethlisberger's departure, the Steelers have a lot of questions, but few answers.

When Big Ben went down with an elbow injury in the 2019 season, his two backups — Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges — proved to be inadequate. Another backup signed this past season, Josh Rosen, has a limited history. And, because the Steelers made the playoffs, they have virtually no chance of landing any of the top quarterbacks in this draft.

On top of that, the Steelers' aging offensive line will pose threats to whomever takes over behind center next year — should they even find a permanent replacement for Big Ben.

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Heyward franchise tagged

Many others to test free agency waters

PITTSBURGH — In a rather strange move, the Pittsburgh Steelers on the last day before free agency moved to franchise tag right end Cam Heyward, signing him to a one-year, $18.8 million contract.

The 32-year-old defensive end, who missed a significant portion of the 2020 season with an elbow injury, signaled to the team his intention to go to free agency. But the Steelers would not take no for an answer.

"With Ben leaving us, we couldn't take any chances," coach Mike Tomlin said. "Cam is an important part of this roster, and he's really only gotten better over the years."

Pittsburgh made a number of other moves, with three headliners coming back and many others to test the waters of NFL free agency.

JuJu Smith Schuster will don the Steelers uniform again, signing a 5-year, $81.8 million contract that will keep him with the team through 2027. Running back James Conner signed a similar five-year deal, earning himself $29 million over the next half-decade. Cornerback Mike Hilton will earn $53.7 million over the next three years after winning the AFC defensive back of the year award this past season.

Quarterback Josh Rosen signed a four-year, $12.3 million contract, and safety Sean Davis will re-join the club, signing a two-year, $5.74 million deal.

Some longtime Steelers, however, will not return next season.

Tackle Alejandro Villanueva will head to free agency after he and the Steelers could not come to a deal. Defensive back Joe Haden will also find another home next season, as will linebacker Bud Dupree.

The Steelers will feature 46 players on their roster heading into free agency, with $22 million in cap room — and no starting quarterback.

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Pittsburgh makes small-time signings

O line main site of improvement

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers, heading into the draft, added three players to their roster, all on the offensive line.

Kelechi Osemele headlines the players who signed a contract with the Steelers, inking a one-year, $8.57 million contract. A left guard, the 32-year-old Osemele previously played for the Kansas City Chiefs.

At right tackle, the Steelers added Marcus Gilbert to their roster with a one-year, $6.54 million deal. The 33-yar-old Gilbert comes to the Steelers by way of the Arizona Cardinals, where the Steelers dealt him in 2019 for a sixth-round draft pick.

Cam Robinson was the last signing for the Steelers, signing a two-year, $11.8 million contract. Robinson, a 25-year-old, plays left tackle and previously played for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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Lance to lead Steelers

Trey Lance falls to #23, grabbed by Pittsburgh

CLEVELAND — Kevin Colbert didn't expect North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance to fall to the bottom of the first round.

But when he did, he nabbed the Bison QB.

With the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger after nearly two full decades of Pittsburgh Steelers football, Trey Lance will in all likelihood be selected to lead the Steelers through a time of trials and tribulations.

Lance was the third-best quarterback in the draft behind Trevor Lawrence, who was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles at #1 overall, and Justin Fields, who went to the Detroit Lions at #3.

The 22-year-old Minnesota native wasn't the only offensive player the Steelers selected in the draft. Louisiana wide-out Terrace Marshall Jr. went to Pittsburgh late in the second round, solidifying the rather young core of Steelers wide receivers. Pittsburgh also chose center Alec Lindstrom from Boston College in the fourth round, and Tutu Atwell, the wide receiver from Louisville, as well as Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett in the seventh round.

On defense, the Steelers picked up defensive end Brenton Cox of Florida, who will likely play second fiddle to Stephon Tuitt — at least for the time being. Joshua Ross, an inside linebacker from Michigan, will also join Pittsburgh for the next season.

The Steelers also selected special teams players in the draft, taking punter Gene Dangus at 91 overall, and kicker Clayton Robertson at 191 overall.

Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Recap
Pick	Player	College	Pos	Ht	Wt
23	Trey Lance	North Dakota State	QB	6'3"	224
55	Terrace Marshall Jr.	Louisiana State	WR	6'3"	200
87	Brenton Cox	Florida	LE	6'4"	249
91	Gene Dangus	Ouachita Baptist	P	6'3"	160
92	Alec Lindstrom	Boston College	C	6'4"	290
191	Clayton Robertson	Minnesota	K	6'1"	198
200	Joshua Ross	Michigan	ILB	6'2"	232
214	Tutu Atwell	Louisville	WR	5'9"	165
222	Kenny Pickett	Pittsburgh	QB	6'2"	225

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Preseason gives Steelers some answers

TAMPA BAY — Following the final game of the four-game preseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers, coach Mike Tomlin was optimistic.

"Even though we lost our longtime quarterback, I fully expect us to make the playoffs," Tomlin said. "This team is young, this team is fast, this team is exciting to watch and coach."

After four games, it would be hard to disagree with the Pittsburgh head coach's assessment.

Over the preseason, the team showed its explosive potential. Trey Lance overcame some early jitters, and frequently connected with fellow rookie Terrace Marshall Jr., who used his speed to befuddle defenders.

On defense, young safety Minkah Fitzpatrick showed why he quickly became one of the league's best, and Brenton Cox, during the relatively few downs he played, was a pain in the side of quarterbacks.

It also showed some holes in the team. Having too few cornerbacks meant some players had to play out of their typical position when the games went to the backups, leading Tomlin to ask for more assistance at certain positions. He succeeded.

The Steelers, during the last few weeks of the preseason, signed a slew of players to pad out their depth chart. Corners Nik Needham, Tim Groves and Janoris Jenkins; nose tackles Malik Jackson, Mike Daniels and Dontari Poe; lineman Cordy Glenn and safety George Odum have joined the Steelers in recent weeks.

"All these guys fit how we play, and they will be immediate contributors, either on the field or off," Tomlin said.

Pittsburgh Steelers Preseason Stats - 2020
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	INT	RAT
Mason Rudolph	58/85	585	6.9	146.3	28	5	6	77.8
Trey Lance	54/86	569	6.6	142.3	50	3	1	88.7
Josh Rosen	21/36	285	7.9	95.0	37	2	2	79.0
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
Benny Snell Jr.	46	155	3.4	13		3	38.8	0
James Conner	18	86	4.8	11		1	21.5	0
Jaylen Samuels	8	26	3.3	6		0	6.5	0
Trey Lance	4	12	3.0	6		0	3.0	0
Mason Rudolph	1	4	4.0	4		0	1.0	0
Derek Watt	1	4	4.0	4		0	1.0	0
Josh Rosen	1	3	3.0	3		0	1.0	0
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	20+	YDS/G	YAC
Vance McDonald	23	237	10.3	0	22		59.3	92
Terrace Marshall Jr.	21	233	11.1	6	37		58.3	77
Benny Snell Jr.	17	191	11.2	0	28		47.8	90
Diontae Johnson	12	171	14.3	1	50		42.8	90
Deon Cain	12	133	11.1	1	22		33.3	54
Jaylen Samuels	9	107	11.9	0	20		26.8	65
Chase Claypool	11	96	8.7	1	16		24.0	55
JuJu Smith-Schuster	10	91	9.1	0	21		22.8	36
Eric Ebron	7	66	9.4	1	15		16.5	36
Emmanuel Hall	7	66	9.4	0	12		16.5	22
Zach Gentry	3	38	12.7	0	26		9.5	15
James Conner	1	10	10.0	0	10		2.5	4
	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	PD	INT	TD
Avery Williamson	30	6	36	0.0	1	0	0	0
Mike Hilton	18	5	23	0.0	1	2	1	0
Sean Davis	13	7	20	0.0	0	1	0	0
Nik Needham	13	5	18	0.5	1	2	1	0
T.J. Watt	13	4	17	7.5	3	0	0	0
Minkah Fitzpatrick	11	5	16	1.0	1	1	1	0
Devin Bush	12	3	15	1.0	0	1	0	0
Alex Highsmith	10	5	15	1.0	4	0	0	0
Justin Layne	13	1	14	0.0	2	2	0	0
Vince Williams	10	2	12	1.0	1	1	0	0
Steven Nelson	6	3	9	0.0	0	0	0	0
Cam Heyward	4	3	7	0.0	2	1	0	0
Stephon Tuitt	5	2	7	1.5	3	0	0	0
Terrell Edmunds	7	0	7	0.0	0	2	0	0
Brenton Cox	3	2	5	1.5	1	0	0	0
Isaiah Buggs	3	0	3	0.0	0	0	0	0
Malik Jackson	3	0	3	0.0	0	0	0	0
Carlos Davis	1	0	1	0.0	1	0	0	0
	Kickoffs					Punts
Returning	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	RET	AVG	TD
Tutu Atwell	2	45	22.5	25	0	5	5.0	0
Terry Godwin II	1	5	5.0	5	0	0	0.0	0
Deon Cain	1	4	4.0	4	0	0	0.0	0
Diontae Johnson	0	0	0.0	0	0	4	2.8	0
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
Clayton Robertson	4	4	100%	35	9	9	100%	21
Chris Boswell	1	1	100%	41	4	4	100%	7
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
Gene Dangus	11	566	65	51.5	523	0	3	2
Jordan Berry	3	165	65	54.7	157	0	0	0

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Steelers finalize roster

PITTSBURGH — After a grueling four weeks during the preseason, there are always winners and there are always losers in the NFL's roster game.

For Steelers punter Jordan Berry, this year was the latter.

"It hurts," Berry said, of learning he had been cut, "but I know it's not personal."

Berry joins the likes of Terry Godwin II and Robert Spillane among those who have been cut in order for the team to make the 53-man roster limit by week one.

It was also a loss for quarterback Josh Rosen, who, while remaining on the roster, will likely see little to no playing time this season.

After a weak showing, Rosen was slotted as third on the Steelers' depth chart at quarterback, behind Trey Lance and Mason Rudolph, whose play surpassed his this year.

Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 Roster
#	OFFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
1	Trey Lance	QB	23	6'3"	224	North Dakota State
10	Josh Rosen	QB	24	6'4"	226	UCLA
2	Mason Rudolph	QB	26	6'5"	235	Oklahoma State
30	James Conner	HB	26	6'1"	233	Pittsburgh
24	Benny Snell Jr.	HB	23	5'10"	224	Kentucky
38	Jaylen Samuels	HB	25	6'0"	225	N.C. State
44	Derek Watt	FB	28	6'2"	234	Wisconsin
19	JuJu Smith-Schuster	WR	24	6'1"	215	USC
11	Chase Claypool	WR	23	6'4"	238	Notre Dame
18	Diontae Johnson	WR	25	5'10"	181	Toledo
83	Terrace Marshall Jr.	WR	22	6'3"	200	LSU
17	Deon Cain	WR	25	6'2"	202	Clemson
12	Tutu Atwell	WR	21	5'9"	165	Louisville
85	Eric Ebron	TE	28	6'4"	253	North Carolina
89	Vance McDonald	TE	31	6'4"	267	Rice
81	Zach Gentry	TE	24	6'8"	265	Michigan
74	Cam Robinson	LT	25	6'6"	320	Alabama
76	Chukwuma Okorafor	LT	24	6'6"	320	W. Michigan
70	Kelechi Osemele	LG	32	6'5"	330	Iowa State
60	Cordy Glenn	LG	31	6'6"	345	Georgia
61	Stefen Wisniewski	LG	32	6'3"	305	Penn State
53	Maurkice Pouncey	C	32	6'4"	304	Florida
66	David DeCastro	RG	31	6'5"	316	Stanford
69	Kevin Dotson	RG	24	6'4'	321	UL Lafayette
77	Marcus Gilbert	RT	33	6'6"	330	Florida
#	DEFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
91	Stephon Tuitt	LE	28	6'6"	303	Notre Dame
99	Brenton Cox	LE	21	6'4"	249	Florida
93	Malik Jackson	DT	31	6'5"	290	Tennessee
94	Dontari Poe	DT	31	6'3"	346	Memphis
92	Mike Daniels	DT	32	6'0"	310	Iowa
96	Isaiah Buggs	DT	25	6'3"	295	Alabama
97	Cam Heyward	RE	32	6'5"	295	Ohio State
73	Carlos Davis	RE	25	6'2"	320	Nebraska
90	T.J. Watt	OLB	26	6'4"	252	Wisconsin
57	Quincy Williams	OLB	25	5'11"	225	Murray State
56	Alex Highsmith	OLB	24	6'3"	242	Charlotte
58	Tanner Muse	OLB	24	6'2"	227	Clemson
55	Devin Bush	ILB	23	5'11"	234	Michigan
51	Avery Williamson	ILB	29	6'1"	246	Kentucky
98	Vince Williams	ILB	31	6'1"	233	Florida State
95	Joshua Ross	ILB	24	6'2"	232	Michigan
28	Mike Hilton	CB	27	5'9"	184	Ole Miss
22	Steven Nelson	CB	28	5'11"	194	Oregon State
20	Janoris Jenkins	CB	32	5'10"	190	North Alabama
40	Nik Needham	CB	24	6'0"	193	UTEP
31	Justin Layne	CB	23	6'2"	192	Michigan State
33	Tim Groves	CB	22	5'11"	182	Iowa State
39	Minkah Fitzpatrick	FS	24	6'1"	207	Alabama
23	George Odum	FS	27	6'1"	200	Central Arkansas
34	Terrell Edmunds	SS	24	6'1"	217	Virginia Tech
21	Sean Davis	SS	27	6'1"	202	Maryland
#	SPECIAL TEAMS	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
9	Chris Boswell	K	30	6'2"	185	Rice
6	Gene Dangus	P	22	6'3"	160	Ouachita Baptist

Pittsburgh Steelers Depth Chart - 2021
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	JuJu Smith-Schuster	Diontae Johnson	Deon Cain
TE	Eric Ebron	Zach Gentry
LT	Cam Robinson	Kelechi Osemele	Cordy Glenn
LG	David DeCastro	Kelechi Osemele	Stefen Wisniewski
C	Maurkice Pouncey	David DeCastro	Kevin Dotson
RG	Kevin Dotson	Cordy Glenn	Stefen Wisniewski
RT	Chukwuma Okorafor	Kelechi Osemele
WR	Chase Claypool	Terrace Marshall Jr.	Tutu Atwell
QB	Trey Lance	Mason Rudolph	Josh Rosen
FB	Derek Watt
HB	James Conner	Benny Snell Jr.	Jaylen Samuels
Base 3-4 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Stephon Tuitt	Brenton Cox
NT	Malik Jackson	Dontari Poe	Mike Daniels	Isaiah Buggs
RDE	Cam Heyward	Carlos Davis
LOLB	T.J. Watt	Alex Highsmith
LILB	Devin Bush	Vince Williams
RILB	Avery Williamson	Joshua Ross
ROLB	Quincy Williams	Tanner Muse
CB	Mike Hilton	Janoris Jenkins	Justin Layne
SS	Terrell Edmunds	Sean Davis
FS	Minkah Fitzpatrick	George Odum
CB	Steven Nelson	Nik Needham	Tim Groves
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Chris Boswell
P	Gene Dangus
PR	Tutu Atwell	Tim Groves	Diontae Johnson	Janoris Jenkins
KR	Tutu Atwell	Tim Groves	Janoris Jenkins	Diontae Johnson
LS	David DeCastro	Maurkice Pouncey	Kelechi Osemele

Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 1	at Houston Texans
Sep 8	vs Cleveland Browns
Sep 15	at Denver Broncos
Sep 23	at Cincinnati Bengals
Oct 1	at Baltimore Ravens
Oct 9	vs Detroit Lions
Oct 24	at Minnesota Vikings
Oct 30	vs Cincinnati Bengals
Nov 6	vs Las Vegas Raiders
Nov 13	at Green Bay Packers
Nov 20	vs Los Angeles Chargers
Nov 27	at Kansas City Chiefs
Dec 3	vs Baltimore Ravens
Dec 10	vs Buffalo Bills
Dec 17	vs Chicago Bears
Dec 24	at Cleveland Browns

(dates are fake, because I can't find them in Madden)

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Steelers rout Texans

HOUSTON — James Conner is back. Or so it seems.

In the Steelers' 47-7 rout of the Houston Texans on Sunday, Conner was one of many bright spots in Pittsburgh's offense, carrying the ball 25 times for 104 yards, scoring one touchdown along the way.

Trey Lance, in his NFL debut, threw 22-for-33, with two touchdowns and a pick on 260 yards. His favorite target, JuJu Smith-Schuster, went 63 yards on 7 receptions, while Lance hit Diontae Johnson 6 times for 77 yards.

The Steelers' defense didn't sack Deshaun Watson, but corner Steven Nelson picked off two throws and Mike Hilton ran a pick-six to increase the Steelers' lead over the Texans.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Texans
Sep 1, 2021	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0-0)	7	17	3	20	47
Houston Texans (0-1-0)	0	7	0	0	7

Team Stats Comparison
	PIT	HOU
Total Offense	408	317
Rushing Yards	148	36
Passing Yards	260	281
First Downs	26	18
Punt Return Yards	17	0
Kick Return Yards	53	137
Total Yards	478	454
Turnovers	1	5
3rd Down Conversion	8-11 (72%)	3-9 (33%)
4th Down Conversion	1-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-1	0-0
Penalties	1-10	2-15
Posession Time	26:04	21:56

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		PIT	HOU
8:46	(PIT) Johnson, 13-yard TD pass from Lance (Boswell kick)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		PIT	HOU
11:29	(PIT) Conner, 2-yard TD run (Boswell kick)	14	0
6:54	(PIT) Johnson, 4-yard TD pass from Lance (Boswell kick)	21	0
1:26	(HOU) Cooks, 43-yard TD pass from Watson (Fairburn kick)	21	7
0:01	(PIT) Boswell, 38-yard FG	24	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		PIT	HOU
3:28	(PIT) Boswell, 22-yard FG	27	7
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		PIT	HOU
9:30	(PIT) Derek Watt, 1-yard TD run (Boswell kick)	34	7
6:15	(PIT) Fitzpatrick, returned fumble 67 yards (missed kick)	40	7
4:51	(PIT) Hilton, returned interception 39 yards (Boswell kick)	47	7

Pittsburgh Steelers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Trey Lane 22 33 260 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD James Conner 25 104 4.1 1 Derek Watt 4 12 3.0 1 Jaylen Samuels 3 20 6.6 0 Trey Lance 2 4 2.0 0 Diontae Johnson 1 8 8.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD JuJu Smith-Schuster 7 63 9.0 0 Diontae Johnson 6 77 12.8 2 Chase Claypool 4 53 13.2 0 Eric Ebron 3 47 15.6 0 Jaylen Samuels 1 14 14.0 0 Zach Gentry 1 6 6.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Avery Williamson 10 0.0 0 0 Devin Bush 10 0.0 0 0 Mike Hilton 8 0.0 1 1 Steven Nelson 8 0.0 2 0 Cam Heyward 4 0.0 0 0 Nik Needham 3 0.0 0 0 Janoris Jenkins 3 0.0 0 0 Minkah Fitzpatrick 3 0.0 0 1 T.J. Watt 2 0.0 0 0 Terrell Edmunds 2 0.0 1 0 Tanner Muse 2 0.0 0 0 Stephon Tuitt 2 0.0 0 0 Sean Davis 1 0.0 0 0 Alex Highsmith 1 0.0 0 0 George Odum 1 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Chris Boswell 2/2 5/6 11 38 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Gene Dangus 1 43 43.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Tutu Atwell 2 53 26.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Tutu Atwell 1 17 17.0 0

Houston Texans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Deshaun Watson 33/46 281 1 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD David Johnson 7 14 2.0 0 Duke Johnson Jr. 3 9 3.0 0 Deshaun Watson 2 13 6.5 0 Will Fuller V 1 0 0.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jordan Akins 11 71 6.4 0 Randall Cobb 6 44 7.3 0 Duke Johnson Jr. 6 21 3.5 0 Will Fuller V 4 39 9.7 0 Keke Coutee 3 43 14.3 0 Brandin Cooks 2 50 25.0 1 Ryan Griffin 1 13 13.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Justin Reid 10 0.0 0 0 Will Parks 9 0.0 0 0 Zach Cunningham 9 0.0 0 0 Gareon Conley 9 0.0 0 0 J.J. Watt 7 0.0 0 0 Bradley Roby 6 0.0 1 0 Dylan Cole 5 0.0 0 0 Duke Ejiofor 4 0.0 0 0 Brennan Scarlett 4 0.0 0 0 Tyquan Lewis 3 0.0 0 0 Lonnie Johnson Jr. 3 0.0 0 0 Ar'Darius Washington 2 0.0 0 0 Benardrick McKinney 2 0.0 0 0 Brandon Dunn 1 0.0 0 0 Ross Blacklock 1 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Ka'imi Fairbairn 0/1 1/1 3 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Bryan Anger 3 111 37.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Randall Cobb 5 104 20.8 0 Master Teague 1 25 25.0 0 Michael Burton 1 8 8.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Randall Cobb 1 0 0.0 0