The fullback competition in Atlanta will have a different look this week.
The Falcons announced on Monday that they have signed Jalston Fowler and waived Luke McNitt. McNitt and Ricky Ortiz have been competing for the job and
head coach Dan Quinn indicated recently
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that Ortiz had pulled ahead.
Fowler was a Titans fourth-round pick in 2015 and spent the last three seasons with the team. He signed with the Seahawks this offseason, but Seattle
released him a little more than a week ago.
Fowler ran 10 times for 20 yards and three touchdowns and caught six passes for 58 yards and a touchdown in 42 regular season games for Tennessee.
The Falcons also announced that they have signed undrafted rookie wide receiver Julian Williams. Wide receiver Taj Williams was waived in a
corresponding move.
A talented and mobile young quarterback tasked with taking over a playoff team from a veteran.
Yeah, Pittsburgh Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger may know a little something about that.
Still, the two-time Super Bowl winner's eyes get a little wide when talking about Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes.
Asked about his initial impressions of Mahomes ??whom Roethlisberger and the Steelers (0-0-1) will get a close look at when Kansas City (1-0) visits
Pittsburgh on Sunday ??and the 36-year-old sounds impressed and a little wistful
at the same time.
"An amazing talent
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And big expectations too. Throwing for four touchdowns in your first season opener ??as Mahomes did while lighting up the Chargers on the road in Week 1
??has a way of doing that.
Now all he has to do for an encore is try to help Kansas City win in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1986, nearly a full decade before the
22-year-old was born.
No pressure or anything, though Mahomes isn't exactly concerned about carrying the weight of his team's largely forgettable history against the
Steelers.
dropped their first four games in 2013
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KING OF THE HILL
Kansas City wide receiver/punt returner Tyreek Hill piled up 269 total yards in Los Angeles, including a 53-yard catch-and-run touchdown and 91-yard punt
return for a score that ended in similar fashion: with Hill flashing the "peace"
sign as he traipsed into the end zone.
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt says older brother Derek ??a fullback for the Chargers ??offered a brief scouting report on Hill, who has 13 touchdowns of 50
yards or more in 32 games.
"He said 10 (Hill) is fast," Watt said. "I said 'I already knew that.'"
So does everyone else. Pittsburgh gave up plenty of big plays last season, allowing 13 passes of more than 40 yards
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that doesn't feature a player such as Hill.
"He's a human video game," Pittsburgh linebacker Bud Dupree said. "We got to make sure he doesn't make a lot of explosive plays that he always makes."
ENCORE, ENCORE
Pittsburgh will play without All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell for a second straight week while Bell continues to wait to sign his franchise tender. The
Steelers hardly missed Bell in Cleveland. James Conner rolled up 192 total yards
on 36 touches ??both Bell-like totals ??and scored twice .
The goal now will be trying to replicate that kind of effectiveness again. And again. And again. Bell has been particularly effective against Kansas City,
averaging 144 yards when facing the Chiefs.
EB's ABSENCE
The Chiefs will likely be without star safety Eric Berry for the second consecutive week. He tore his Achilles tendon last season and had returned for
summer workouts
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long season," Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. "That's where we're at."
SECOND WAVE
The Steelers relied heavily on wide receivers Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster in Cleveland. Help could be on the way Sunday. Tight end Vance
McDonald ??sidelined all of training camp with a foot injury ??is expected to
play. McDonald was productive when healthy in 2017 and caught 10 passes for 112
yards in a playoff loss to Jacksonville.
AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City contributed to this report.
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