Pittsburgh Steelers fans, we're back for at least one more week of football. With a win in Week 18 and some help from the Tennessee Titans, the Steelers were able to sneak into the postseason. Now, it's quickly time to prepare for the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. The two sides will face off in the early time slot in Sunday's allotment of games. Per usual, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin held his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin roams the grounds at Acrisure Stadium prior to a 2022 preseason matchup in Pittsburgh, PA.
Tomlin was quick to announce veteran Mason Rudolph as the starting quarterback against the Bills. As Kenny Pickett is now healthy from his ankle injury, it's the seven-year veteran in the room that the Steelers will ride with. That was expected given the fact that Rudolph has led the team to three consecutive victories. In that span, Rudolph has played clean football. In three starts, the 2018 third-rounder has thrown for 716 passing yards with three touchdowns and a 74.6% completion rate.
Will The Steelers Ride With Rudolph Into The 2024 Season?
Rudolph struggled with holding onto the ball against the Baltimore Ravens, but so did everyone else on the field. The rainy, slippery conditions led to a lot of sloppy play, and Rudolph still hasn't thrown an interception across 74 pass attempts in 2023. For Pickett, it will continue to be a learning experience as he will have to watch from the sidelines. He was the primary backup in Week 18, and that will likely be his role again this weekend.
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Steelers dominant edge rusher, TJ Watt warms up on the playing surface at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA prior to a 2022 preseason game.
In the injury department, Tomlin officially ruled out TJ Watt for this weekend's contest. Watt had two sacks and eight total tackles in Week 18 against the Ravens. The performance helped him finish the regular season with a league-high 19 sacks, but unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury late in the game. The injury is expected to hold him out multiple weeks, which essentially ends his season unless the team makes it deep into the playoffs. Tomlin acknowledged how big of a loss it is, but provided some optimism.
"Playing without TJ is significant, but to be quite honest with you, we've played without a lot of people this year. It's just another opportunity for us to strike a blow for team and to display what team really means. Collective of individuals that work together in an effort to produce an outcome. It's not going to be a one-man job in terms of replacing TJ," Tomlin said Tuesday.
It's not ideal to lose the potential Defensive Player of the Year just ahead of the playoffs, but Nick Herbig and Markus Golden are the next guys up.
Elandon Roberts and Minkah Fitzpatrick will be limited in the early portions of the week, but Tomlin remained optimistic on their chances of playing on Sunday. With that, each of them can be labeled as questionable against the Bills.
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Steelers superstar defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick warms up before a regular season game in 2022.
Safety Damontae Kazee was suspended for the remainder of the regular season for a hit against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15. After an appeal, he's now eligible to return for the postseason. The team will assess Kazee's conditioning throughout the week, but he will likely be back in the starting lineup against the Bills.
That means the Steelers could very well have their safety duo of Fitzpatrick and Kazee back, which will help against the Bills' uber-talented offense. In the meantime, Patrick Peterson may return to cornerback. It's something that Tomlin acknowledged in the press conference, and it makes sense with the returns of the aforementioned safeties. We'll see how the team is able to perform this weekend without the likes of Watt, and possibly others.
What are your expectations against the AFC's No. 2 seed this weekend? What do you think of the Steelers being such big underdogs? What are the keys to victory without Watt in the lineup? Share your thoughts on these topics in the comment section below, yinz!
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