The Pittsburgh Steelers’ clearest path to the playoffs involves them winning their Week 18 season finale against the Baltimore Ravens and then relying on one of a couple other teams to lose. The first game to watch will be on Sunday afternoon as the Jacksonville Jaguars are on the road against the Tennessee Titans with the Steelers needing a Jaguars loss. That evening, if the Jaguars win, the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins play in Miami and the Steelers need a Bills loss.
Trevor Lawrence sprained his right shoulder in the Jaguars’ Week 16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that injury kept him out of their Week 17 game against the Carolina Panthers. Ian Rapoport offered an update on Lawrence’s status on The Insiders on the NFL Network Thursday afternoon.
“It does seem like where Trevor Lawrence is at right now is throwing a little bit and trying to feel better,” Rapoport said in a clip of the segment posted on his Twitter page. “Not like, ‘Oh I’m getting there, I’m close to 100 percent.’ Trying to feel better is how it was described to me, which really is not a great place to be.”
The injury reports on Thursday and Friday will provide more clarity, but in the first practice of the week Lawrence was limited and Rapoport seems to think he is not progressing fast enough to play in this must-win game for the Jaguars.
“The fact that Trevor Lawrence is not participating fully, the fact that he is still trying to throw and see how he is, to me just kind of reading the tea leaves here, doesn’t seem like he’s in a great position to play,” Rapoport said. “The problem is, he has always played in this situation except for last week.”
Last week Lawrence first the missed game in his career despite other minor injuries along the way. It is certainly possible he could return, but a throwing-arm injury to a quarterback can be very hard to play through. Even if he plays, he might not be 100 percent effective.
The Jaguars won their Week 17 game against the Panthers in Lawrence’s absence by a score of 26-0. That Panthers team has the worst record in football, and C. J. Beathard played well enough to win with 17 completions on 24 attempts for 178 passing yards. He also tacked on an extra 24 yards on three carries and did not turn the football over. If Beathard ends up starting, the Steelers will be benefitting from the absence of Lawrence and Lamar Jackson in Week 18 and their chances of making the playoffs will be slightly higher because of it.
