Welcome back to BTSC’s Friday night open thread. Congratulations, you made it through another week and this weekend you get rewarded with a primetime game this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Last week, after shocking the NFL world with a 3-0 start, the Steelers made like many of our NFL survivor pools and ended their streak sooner than we’d have hoped. Still, a 3-1 start is nothing to sneeze at. A look ahead at the October schedule —three home games and one road game against the Cowboys, Raiders, Jets and Giants — and it’s hard not to feel like October will determine if the Steelers make the playoffs and possibly win the division.

So in the spirit of the season, let’s kick off this Friday Happy Hour with a little game I’ll call trick or treat. The idea is simple. I’m going to list off the division leaders and in the comments below, tell me whether they are pretenders (Trick) or legit (Treat). Feel free to add your explanation for your rulings if you wish.

1. Trick or Treat Division Leaders

AFC North: Steelers

AFC East: Bills

AFC South: Texans

AFC West: Chiefs

NFC: North: Vikings

NFC East: Commanders

NFC South: Falcons

NFC West: Seahawks

2. How ‘Bout Them Cowboys?

The Steelers face off against an old rival on Sunday night. The Steelers and Cowboys may not have the same competitive fire towards each other that they had in the 70s and 90s, but I still think there is something fun and special when two storied franchises face off.

Do you still have any sense of rivalry with Dallas? You have to at least enjoy whenever they lose, right?
Do you have any memories from previous Steelers-Cowboys games that still stand out to you?
Were there any Cowboys legends you begrudgingly came to respect? Or any Cowboys players you loved to root against?
Who makes it back to a conference championship game first — Pittsburgh or Dallas?

3. Dog Days

Back in August, I adopted my first dog as an adult. I always had dogs growing up, and it’s been a real joy now that I’m in a position to properly care for one of my own. Everyone, meet Nona, my Australian Cattle Dog mix puppy.

Nona is a fan of walks, treats, and getting belly rubs on the couch during Steelers games. As I write this, she’s letting me know she’s upset with me because I haven’t taken her on her daily walk yet. In my defense, it’s raining really hard outside and neither of us care to be out in the elements, but try explaining that to a puppy.

Nona begins obedience and socializing training next week, wish us luck!

Do you have any furry Steelers fans in your life (Please share pictures or descriptions in the comments. All furry, feathered or scaley friends are welcome!)
Any tips for a new dog owner?
What’s your pet’s favorite toy?
Does your pet like to join you while you watch football games?
Should I get Nona some Steelers swag or let her choose her own fandom? She was really into Hardknocks, but I want to steer her away from the pain of being a Bears fan.

4. Scary Movies

I’m a big movie/TV buff and every October I try to watch a few movies that either fall into the horror genre or have that Halloween aesthetic to them. In recent years I’ve been a big fan of the work of Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us, Nope), Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) and Alex Garland (Annihilation, Ex Machina, 28 Days Later), as well as older classics like The Shining, Event Horizon, and John Carpenter’s The Thing.

If you’re a fan of horror — or anything horror-adjacent — what are some of your favorite movies or shows in that genre?
Along the same lines, do you have any recommendations for ones I should watch this month? Foreign language films are fine to suggest! In fact I recommend looking into Japanese and Korean horror if you haven’t. A lot of times US films adapt foreign films that did it first, like Speak No Evil which recently hit theaters.

Have a great weekend everyone! Here we go Steelers, here we go!