In this week’s “Football Footnotes,” former quarterback Kordell Stewart has some advice for Kenny Pickett — and the entire Steelers franchise.

There’s some potentially severe injury news coming out of Thursday night’s AFC North battle between the Bengals and Ravens.

Plus, we look at the local college scene as the Duquesne Dukes take a second swing at trying to secure an outright NEC championship and a trip to the playoffs.

Before Sunday’s win for the Steelers over the Green Bay Packers, a number of former players got together for a photo opportunity to commemorate this year’s alumni weekend.

One of those on hand was former quarterback Kordell Stewart.

I asked Stewart what advice he’d give to Kenny Pickett when it comes to dealing with scrutiny and criticism while playing the position in Pittsburgh.

“He’s just got to keep his head about it,” Stewart said. “Playing at the University of Pittsburgh, he kind of has an idea. Stay the course. Thick skin. Tough mind. Keep your body together. He has seemed like he’s been able to handle it. … Just keep staying tough, and staying true to yourself and playing the game as best as you can — as we’ve seen him do lately.”

Despite little progress in the offense under Matt Canada, Stewart advised retaining the offensive coordinator so as to give Pickett continuity as he matures in his second year.

“You have to,” Stewart said of keeping Canada. “You learn from your mistakes of the past. In my six years starting, I had four different coordinators. Stability and continuity are average at best, and to be able to get two AFC Championship appearances out of that, it’s pretty remarkable. I was asked a few times, being on the radio here in town, ‘Should they get rid of Canada?’ I’m like, ‘For what? So you can start over again and start from scratch again?’ You have to learn how to be patient.”

Stewart says the best way for Canada to help Pickett in the short term is to lean into the running game.

“We forget the piece that matters most — just being patient and allowing the process to develop,” he said. “I think that’s what we’re seeing right now, Canada and his quarterback starting to see this offense in spurts. Particularly against the Titans. They played between the tackles, which is something that we used to do in the past. We were able to come out victorious with those ugly wins. We have to learn how to appreciate the ugly wins.”

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Stewart said he didn’t feel like his full understanding of playing quarterback matched his physical skills until 2001. That was his fifth full year as a starter. That was the first year Stewart was given a quarterback coach (Tom Clements). The Steelers went 13-3 that year and made it to the AFC Championship game.

Two injuries of significance occurred in the Thursday night AFC North game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens won 34-20 despite losing Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews to what head coach John Harbaugh called a potential season-ending ankle injury.

The Ravens have improved to 8-3 and sit atop the AFC North. One of those losses was to the Steelers in Week 5. The teams will rematch in the final game of the season.

But next week, the Steelers play the Bengals. And Cincinnati may not have Joe Burrow. According to coach Zac Taylor, the quarterback appears to have sprained his right wrist. Burrow had to leave the game in the second quarter.

Burrow was replaced by Jake Browning. He went 8 of 14 for 68 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He was sacked three times.

The Steelers play in Cincinnati next Sunday. This week, the Steelers are facing a backup quarterback in a divisional game in Cleveland’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Now, they may be in line for one again next week unless the extra days off give Burrow enough time to heal.

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Mike Tomlin was in a different role and taking in a game from a different view at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday night.

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The Steelers’ head coach was watching the game from a suite as a fan of … the visiting team.

Tomlin’s son, Dino, is a wide receiver for the Boston College Eagles. They were playing Pitt in a Thursday night ACC game. Tomlin posted a photo of himself and his wife, Kiya, in attendance.

Things didn’t turn out great for the Tomlin family. Pitt (3-8) ended up beating B.C. (6-5) 24-16. Dino Tomlin had two catches for 36 yards.

Pitt finishes their season at Duke next Saturday. B.C. hosts Miami next Friday.

With Pitt finished for the week, local eyes focus on Penn State and West Virginia.

The Nittany Lions (8-2) look to bounce back after last week’s loss to Michigan at home against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights come in as 20.5-point underdogs, according to ESPN Bet. Kickoff is at noon. They are 6-4 on the year, having lost two in a row to Ohio State and Iowa. Rutgers was outscored 57-16 in those two games.

Penn State won this game in New Jersey last year, 55-10.

As for WVU, the Mountaineers (6-4) host Cincinnati (3-7) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The Bearcats beat Houston 24-14 last week to snap a seven-game losing streak. The Mountaineers are 6.5-point favorites after losing by 39 to Oklahoma last week.

Duquesne (6-4, 5-1) heads out to Merrimack (5-5, 4-2) for what amounts to a de facto NEC championship game on Saturday.

The Dukes already have earned at least a share of the NEC title after a 5-0 start in conference play. But a 33-28 loss at home to Stonehill last week prevented the team from clinching the outright title and a berth in the FCS playoffs.

However, a win in North Andover, Mass., on Saturday will clinch the outright crown and send Jerry Schmitt’s team to the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Merrimack won last year’s game in Pittsburgh 28-21. The Dukes won in their most recent visit to Duane Stadium, 37-14, in 2021.

Listen: Tim Benz and Kordell Stewart discuss playing QB in Pittsburgh, Kenny Pickett, keeping Matt Canada

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Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.