PITTSBURGH (AP) — PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-8)
The head coach may have changed in Pittsburgh, with Mike McCarthy taking over after Mike Tomlin stepped down in January following a 19-year run, but the standard remains the standard to borrow one of Tomlin's pet phrases. The Steelers managed to win their first AFC North title since 2020 in Tomlin's final year, but the season ended as so many have for the past decade: with a lopsided playoff loss. Yet rather than blow it up, the Steelers have opted to largely run it back. While most of the coaching staff is new, quarterback Aaron Rodgers has returned for his 22nd and — he says — final NFL season. Pittsburgh upgraded the wide receiver group, acquiring Michael Pittman and selecting Germie Bernard in the second round of the draft. Rico Dowdle joins Jaylen Warren in the backfield, though they will play behind an offensive line that didn't exactly assert itself during the preseason. The team will be defined, once again, by a defense that includes seeming ageless defensive tackle Cam Heyward (37) and outside linebacker T.J. Watt. McCarthy, at 62, was not hired to build, but to win now. If he doesn't, the good vibes from the Pittsburgh native's homecoming will fade quickly.
WR Michael Pittman, RB Rico Dowdle, CB Jamel Dean, TE Robert Tonyan, S Jaquan Brisker, S Rayshawn Jenkins, LT Max Iheanachor, WR Germie Bernard, QB Drew Allar.
RB Kenneth Gainwell, WR Calvin Austin III, LG Isaac Seumalo, LT Broderick Jones, TE Connor Heyward, WR Adam Thielen, S Chuck Clark, CB James Pierre.
The defensive line around Heyward is young and impressive. The Steelers signed Keeanu Benton to an extension and are bullish on Derrick Harmon, who had his moments when healthy as a rookie last season. The edge-rushing group that includes Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig is among the most disruptive in the league when they're all available, and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is eager to find ways to put all three on the field at the same time. The secondary, provided cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is healthy and/or under long-term contract, also has a chance to be excellent. Jalen Ramsey is a versatile pro who thrived last season when asked to move around. Kicker Chris Boswell remains one of the best in the business, which is a good thing for a team that is preternaturally disposed to playing tight games.
The offensive line is a work in progress. While center Zach Frazier is establishing himself as one of the top players at his position and tackle Troy Fautanu looks as if he'll be around for a good long while, around them things get dicey. Dylan Cook will start at the other tackle, with Spencer Anderson and Mason McCormick at guards. That group will need to come together quickly if Rodgers wants to have time to stretch the field, something he largely avoided last season while opting for quick passes that minimized the risk of him getting hit. McCarthy's lengthy track record of success as a play-caller is cause for optimism that the offense can be more explosive, but only if Rodgers can stay upright and effective. The wide receiver group is improved. Whether it will be better is anyone's guess.
The vast majority of the attention during camp was given to young quarterbacks Drew Allar and Will Howard, both of whom showed signs of being quick studies at what McCarthy has dubbed “Quarterback U.” While both of them made the roster, the reality is if either of them sees the field in a meaningful situation this season, things will have taken a turn. Iheanachor, the club's first-round pick, saw his development slowed by an injury early in camp, likely pushing back the timetable for when he might be ready to supplant Cook at tackle.
The Steelers paid tight end Pat Freiermuth high-profile money only to have him disappear for large stretches in former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's attack. Tight ends have always thrived under McCarthy, and expect Freiermuth to get plenty of looks over the middle as McCarthy schemes ways to get him open. Warren and Dowdle are in a 1A/1B situation in the backfield, so start one of them at your own risk. Expect McCarthy to try to find ways to get DK Metcalf open downfield, though whether that happens depends largely on how much time Rodgers has to chuck it deep.
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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Max Iheanachor (71) defends against the rush by Buffalo Bills' Andre Jones Jr. (59) in the first half of a preseason NFL football game in Orchard Park, NY., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers warms up before an NFL preseason football game against the New York Jets, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy stands on the field in the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, NY., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial said for a second time they were unable to reach a verdict on whether she is criminally responsible for killing her three children, but the judge on Wednesday told them to keep trying.
Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her three children in their Massachusetts home in 2023. But her attorney argues that postpartum psychosis led to her actions, while prosecutors say she knew what she was doing.
Clancy, 36, stared at the jury with no expression as Judge William Sullivan explained to the courtroom that the jurors were at an impasse on their fifth day of deliberations — a sign there’s a growing chance of a hung jury and the trial ending without a resolution.
Sullivan told the jurors not to abandon their own convictions just to reach a verdict, but urged them to seriously consider opposing views and reassess their positions if appropriate.
No one knows, he said, that another jury would be “more intelligent, more impartial or more competent to decide it than you are.”
The judge then sent them back out. The jury first said they were struggling to reach a unanimous decision Tuesday morning.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
Clancy’s livestreamed trial has generated intense interest, with reporters and spectators packing the courtroom. The case has also sparked deep public divisions over her culpability and the issues around maternal mental health after childbirth.
The jury resumed deliberations Wednesday after the judge questioned jurors one by one following the arrest of a woman a day earlier who was accused of filming them as they left the courthouse.
Jurors have heard testimony from relatives and doctors about how Clancy’s mental health declined in the months before the killings and how her treatment included several medications and a short stay in a psychiatric hospital.
Medical experts hired by the prosecution and the defense reached sharply different conclusions about her psychiatric state when she killed Cora, Dawson and Callan Clancy, ages 5, 3 and 8 months.
If jurors ultimately can’t agree on a verdict, the judge could declare a mistrial. Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to put Clancy on trial again, drop the charges or try to negotiate a plea deal with her lawyer.
If the jury decides Clancy was criminally responsible for her actions, it could convict her of either murder or manslaughter. If she is acquitted, a judge could still order her confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation determines that she poses a danger to the public.
After court ended Tuesday, Clancy’s attorney said it was a good sign that the jury kept working.
“The fact that they have not said that they’re done is very, very heartening,” Kevin Reddington said. “Obviously, they’re working very hard.”
Clancy strangled the children with exercise bands in their home’s basement, then jumped from a second-floor window. She remains paralyzed from the waist down. Her lawyers say she heard a voice telling her to kill the children so she could end her own life, and had bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness that can follow childbirth.
The prosecution argues she deliberately sent her then-husband on errands to get him out of the house that day, and prosecutors have questioned the seriousness of her suicide attempt. Patrick Clancy has said in interviews that he forgives his ex-wife, whom he views as ill rather than evil.
A Massachusetts woman was arraigned on an intimidation charge Wednesday at the same courthouse in Plymouth, south of Boston. Surrounded by reporters while going to her car, she was asked why she had filmed outside the courthouse a day earlier.
“To see Lindsay. And I did see her. She was getting picked up by the van,” said Dawn Light, 56, of Sutton.
Light’s attorney, Jennifer White, called it a “misunderstanding” and said Light, a retired nurse, was only trying to take a photo of Clancy and “not interact with the jurors.”
Light described herself as a “crime junkie” and Clancy supporter, in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media Group.
A not-guilty plea was entered on her behalf and she was ordered to stay away from the court, the jurors and any witnesses.
Sullivan opened Wednesday’s proceedings with a warning to the courtroom about following his orders against filming, following, contacting, or tampering with jurors.
Clancy’s lawyer told The Associated Press that the judge called jurors up one by one to ask them if there was anything they saw that would affect their ability to be impartial.
This story has been updated to correct that Clancy’s attorney clarified that the judge asked jurors about their impartiality, not the woman’s arrest.
Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.
The press and spectators sit in the courtroom during Lindsay Clancy's murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Lindsay Clancy and attorney Kevin Reddington watch as Judge William Sullivan tells the jury to keep discussing a possible verdict after jurors said for a second time they couldn't agree whether Lindsay Clancy was criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Mike Musgrove, father of Lindsay Clancy, center right, sits with family as they listen to the judge tell the jury to keep discussing a possible verdict after jurors said they couldn't agree for a second time whether Clancy is criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Lindsay Clancy and attorney Kevin Reddington watch as Judge William Sullivan tells the jury to keep discussing a possible verdict after jurors said for a second time they couldn't agree whether Lindsay Clancy was criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger)
In this photo taken with a smartphone Dawn Light is questioned by reporters as she leaves her arraignment where she was charged with intimidation in connection with the Lindsay Clancy's murder trial in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
Dawn Light attends her arraignment on a charge of intimidation in connection with the Lindsay Clancy's murder trial at Plymouth District Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Judge William Sullivan speaks to the press and spectators in the courtroom during Lindsay Clancy's murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
A diet soda sits in Lindsay Clancy's wheelchair as the jury resumes deliberations during her murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Lindsay Clancy reacts to news that a woman was arrested for recording images of the jury at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Lindsay Clancy looks to her lawyer Kevin Reddington as the jury keeps deliberating at her murder trial at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
