The Pittsburgh Steelers have once again found themselves in the final week of the regular season with a chance to make the playoffs. This has happened a number of times over the years. Under head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have only played in one meaningless game, in 2012 where they were already eliminated from contention entering the final week of the season.
During his media availability following the Steelers’ practice session on Wednesday, Heyward wasn’t interested in hearing about playoff scenarios and the outside help the Steelers need this weekend.
“You talking too much. I ain’t paying attention to that,” Heyward said in a clip posted by 93.7 The Fan on X when a reporter started listing off playoff scenarios. “I gotta win this damn game, that’s it.”
While the Steelers will need some outside help, It will likely not matter if they cannot take care of business on Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens. The easiest path to the playoffs is a win over the Ravens and either a Jacksonville Jaguars loss to the Tennessee Titans or a Buffalo Bills loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The Steelers have been in this situation before, winning their game and then staying on the field after their win to watch playoff hopes. In the 2018 season finale, the Steelers needed to win, and they needed the Ravens to lose to the Browns. The Steelers took care of business and then stayed on the field to watch the end of the Ravens-Browns game. The score was 26-24 in favor of Baltimore and Baker Mayfield was leading an eight-play drive into Ravens’ territory. They were just on the cusp of field goal range to send the Steelers to the playoffs, but Mayfield threw an interception to end the Steelers’ season.
The heartbreak of the Steelers players still on the field was evident. They had taken care of business, but it wasn’t enough. This week will be different as the Steelers play on Saturday afternoon in the first game of the week. They will have a long wait until Sunday morning for the Jaguars-Titans game and an even longer wait until the Bills-Dolphins game that night if the Jaguars win earlier in the day. Either way, Heyward is locked in on the task at hand—defeating the Baltimore Ravens.
