Dec 15, 2015 4 min read

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Mike Tomlin said today that there’s a chance that center Maurkice Pouncey could return before the end of the regular season, the first time he’s put any kind of time table on the All-Pro’s recovery from a broken leg suffered in the preseason.

“I have not,” said Tomlin when asked if he’s ruled Pouncey out for the season. “I’ve ruled him out for this week.”

It was a small acknowledgement to be sure, but Tomlin has been evasive in the past when talking about Pouncey.

Pouncey has been at the team facility over the past couple of weeks, which had not happened much before then. He’s still walking with a slight limp, but is rehabbing the ankle, which required a couple of surgeries to repair, first when a plate was inserted and then a second when complications with that plate arose.

I don’t expect him back this season, but you never know when you’re talking about highly skilled and motivated athletes. They don’t work on the same timetables as everyone else.

@ Ben Roethlisberger said today on his weekly call in to KDKA-FM 93.7 that he felt Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict was trying to injure him in the first half of the Steelers’ win over the Bengals on Sunday when he dove at the quarterback’s lower leg.

The play went unpenalized but not unnoticed.

The Steelers obviously aren’t happy with that, though Tomlin said he’ll let the league handle it. The NFL is reportedly looking very closely at the tape and Burfict, who has been fined repeatedly in the past, could be facing multiple fines for his out-of-control actions Sunday.

That was the knock on Burfict coming out of college. He was considered a possible first-round pick heading into his senior season at Arizona State, but acted like a knucklehead so often his final year – drawing numerous personal foul penalties – that many teams felt he was uncoachable.

He wound up signing with the Bengals as an undrafted rookie. He’s a very good football player but obviously one who has all kind of issues.

@ On the subject of issues, Tomlin called the back-and-forth social media stuff going on between the Steelers and Bengals “childish.”

Look for it to cease, at least on Pittsburgh’s side of things.

@ Tomlin said safety Mike Mitchell’s shoulder injury is the only significant injury for the Steelers coming out of the game against Cincinnati. But he noted that it will be a pain tolerance issue for Mitchell in deciding whether he plays Sunday against Denver.

Given that, expect Mitchell to play.

@ Every time the Steelers are penalized or have a game in which they have a number of penalties, the old “undisciplined” mantra comes out as a shot at the coaching staff.

It doesn’t fit.

With three games remaining, the Steelers, with 73, are the least-penalized team in the league.

That said, I could do without the end zone theatrics that have taken place the past two weeks – though they are comical and haven’t mattered in the grand scheme of things.

@ I heard from a source that referee John Parry told the Steelers coaching staff that A.J. Green punting the ball into the end zone following his touchdown catch Sunday was not illegal.

Parry reportedly told the Steelers that it’s illegal to throw the ball into the stands but not illegal to kick it.

That is clearly not the case. Expect Green to be fined for that. He should also have been penalized.

@ With the Giants’ win Monday night, the Steelers’ game at Baltimore has been moved to a 1 p.m. start.

@ After William Gay and Robert Golden recorded picks against the Bengals, every defensive back who has seen more than a handful of plays this season now has an interception.

The Steelers have 14 interceptions by 10 different players. They also have 14 players who have been credited with at least half of sack.