NEWS » serve as a mentor to help Boswell out of his slump. Stop us

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping running back James Conner’s sprained left ankle will be ready in time to play on Sunday against New England.The AFC North leaders listed Conner as questionable to face the Patriots in a pivotal game for the Steelers (7-5-1). They’ve dropped three straight and lead Baltimore by just a half-game for the top spot in the division. Conner sat out last week’s loss to Oakland after injuring the ankle in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 2.Conner is sixth in the NFL with 909 yards rushing and second with 12 rushing touchdowns. Pittsburgh struggled to move the ball on the ground in Conner’s absence against the Raiders White Brandon Bolden Jerseys , finishing with a season-low 55 yards. Jaylen Samuels and Stevan Ridley will split time in the backfield if Conner is unable to play.Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert will miss his eighth straight game with a knee injury. Wide receiver Ryan Switzer is listed as questionable after tweaking an ankle.After bringing in two kickers for a tryout this week, Pittsburgh is sticking with Chris Boswell. Coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Friday that Boswell, a Pro Bowler in 2017 Brandon Bolden Jerseys 2019 , will handle the kicking duties against New England.Boswell has missed 11 combined kicks this season, including two field goals against the Raiders. The team brought in former kicker Shaun Suisham this week to serve as a mentor to help Boswell out of his slump. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: We heard nothing from Patriots coach Bill Belichick regarding a specific topic of significant interest.Asked by reporters after Sunday night’s rollicking 33-3 win over the Steelers if he has any comment on the reports of Antonio Brown signing with the Patriots, Belichick said White Ryan Allen Jerseys , “No. Next.”Belichick had a little more to add. But not much.“Yeah, no, I’ll talk about the game and the players that are on our team Ryan Allen Jerseys 2019 ,” Belichick said. “I thought they did a great job tonight. Offensively we had some balance and made some big plays, had a couple of big throws down the field for touchdowns and big gains. Anytime you can get those explosive plays that helps open things up.”Once Brown joins the team, there will be plenty more opportunities for explosive plays. And plenty more opportunities for Belichick to say nothing or close to it about Brown.