Thanks to a huge comeback win, as well as a Cleveland Browns crash last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers not only secured an AFC North crown, but now they can’t do worse than No. 3 in the playoffs.
This means that the Week 17 game with the Cleveland Browns does nothing for this team. The team has already announced that it will place quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and start Mason Rudolph.
So there’s nothing to worry about, is there? Wrong. Here are our big concerns this week.
Catastrophic injury
(Photo by AP / Don Wright)
You worry about injuries every week, but with the Steelers finally getting their game back in order and heading into the playoffs, fear of a major injury from a guy like defender TJ Watt or safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a meaningless game is even more worrying.
Showing Browns too much
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Winning and losing don’t really matter, but there’s a real chance the Steelers will host the Browns next week in the first round of the playoffs. As much as Pittsburgh wants to come out and put on a good show on Sunday, this game should look very clear in terms of the game plan, just in case they have to retire next week.
Don’t lose that edge
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The second half of last week’s game was exactly what the Steelers needed. Not only did he show the world, but the Steelers themselves, this is still the same team that started the season 11-0. There is always the risk that a meaningless game even before the playoffs will reduce the momentum.