Must Steelers Outbid Chiefs in DeAndre Hopkins Trade?

SEPT 29 LEFT IN TANK? Could the Steelers use DeAndre Hopkins? No doubt. Do they need to get in a bidding war with the Chiefs to trade for him?

That's a different argument.

The Titans are 0-3 and might be on the verge of a fire sale for Hopkins, who is in the final year of his deal. So NFLAnalysis wants a trade!

They make the points that Patrick Mahomes has so far thrown for five touchdowns and four interceptions. ... suggesting Hopkins is the fix. Nah.

A better point? The Steelers (like KC) are a perfect 3-0, but have been seeking wideout help alongside George Pickens for a while.

That - depending on the price and the Steelers' evaluation of whether Hopkins still has gas in the tank - is the play.

SEPT 25 CATCH A TRAIN The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted third-round pick Roman Wilson from Michigan with big plans. He was "Hines Ward Jr.'', remember?

Suddenly, that seems like a while ago ... as we are entering NFL Week 4 and he hasn'rt played a snap. Injuries have been a part of this. But on a receiver-needy team ... what's up?

"He just gotta keep working," coach Mike Tomlin said. "It is very difficult to get on a moving train."

The Steelers are undefeated. ... and Wilson's been dinged up. Eventually, though ...

"My advice to him is to keep working and take that opportunity when that door is left ajar and to be ready when it is," said Tomlin.

SEPT 22 HERBERT HURT Justin Herbert came into this Week 3 game with a high ankle sprain ... but he played in the 20-10 Chargers loss at Pittsburgh.

And now coach Jim Harbaugh's prized player is exiting this week 3 game ... in a protective walking boot.

“As soon as I saw Justin got up, first sign of any limp he was coming out of the game,'' Harbaugh said, "I took him out."

The coach did do that ... which won't absolve him from criticism centering on the question of whether Herbert should've been playing at all.

He left in a boot.SEPT 19 THE HOLE The Steelers are 2-0 and sitting atop the AFC North ... and could use some help this weekend in order to stay there.

The Bengals and the Ravens are both 0-2. While the Steelers are at home with their own challenge (the visiting Chargers are 2-0), they'll be keeping an eye out for the Ravens at Cowboys ... a tough task ...

And the Washington Commanders playing prime-time football against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night .

Washington has no shot here, right? Their new coach, Dan Quinn, has another view.

"I wanted them to enjoy the buildup and knowing there's a routine that goes into place for a night game," Quinn said . "But just going through that process, having the younger players lean into the older guys onto that, it's a big deal and yeah, we're really excited for it."

Can that excitement lead to a win at Cincy? The Steelers will be watching.

SEPT 16 X-RAYS IN Justin Herbert, the Chargers quarterback, injured his lower right leg during a 26-3 win over Carolina on Sunday, but played through the game to help seal the victory.

On Monday, though, the Chargers confirmed that Herbert avoided a serious issue as X-rays on Herbert's leg came back negative.

The 2-0 Chargers have opened the season with a pair of lopsided victories and in NFL Week 3 play the 2-0 Steelers.

SEPT 10 RUST? The Falcons lost in Kirk Cousins' Atlanta debut, 18-10 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers, because of what they are calling QB "rust.'' And indeed, Cousins played his first game since suffering a torn Achilles last season with the Minnesota Vikings.

But the Steelers have another view of what happened here, and Atlanta's $180 million QB really has nothing to do with it.

Pittsburgh was playing with a backup QB and didn't score a TD ... and yet kept control of a Falcons offense featuring Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts and Drake London.

"I was disappointed," Cousins said after the defeat. "Certainly disappointed. You always go out there with an expectation that you're going to play at a high level, and we didn't play up to our standard today."

That's one angle. A better one? The Steelers defense played up to its standard .