The Pittsburgh Steelers had three notable players miss the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and they looked lost without them. We will see what the next few days have in store, but this critical matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday could feature even more notable players missing the game due to injuries.
DeShon Elliott, Larry Ogunjobi, and George Pickens all missed against the Eagles. We will see if any of those three can make it back, but now T.J. Watt and Donte Jackson are dealing with injuries. The defense could be without four starters, including two in the secondary. That could be a big problem against the red-hot Ravens.
“Two of your top four secondary defenders are hurt,” Chris Canty said Monday via ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike. “If Pittsburgh isn’t whole going into that game next week at M&T Bank Stadium, then it could be bad for them. And when I say be bad, not only could they lose, they could get embarrassed. That’s how good this Baltimore Ravens team looked yesterday coming off their bye week.”
Jackson has dealt with injuries all season, but usually he manages to return to games after missing a handful of plays. He did not return against the Eagles with a back injury. James Pierre was the next man up at corner. Cory Trice Jr. has been inactive the last two weeks after returning from IR. He will very likely be active if Jackson ends up being unavailable. Trice hasn’t played in a couple months, but he was pretty solid before his injury.
Watt’s injury doesn’t seem like a long-term concern. He has a low-ankle injury, but with back-to-back short weeks coming up, it’s not out of the question that he misses both games. Alex Highsmith recently missed three weeks with a low-ankle issue, though that looked more severe.
As for the rest of them, it’s hard to tell. Mike Tomlin will provide updates on all of these players during his weekly press conference later today.
Pickens reportedly has a Grade 2 hamstring strain. The injury was suffered 11 days ago, so there’s no guarantee he is available. Various Steelers insiders projected he would miss the Ravens game, but ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said the Steelers are hopeful that he will be available this week.
There isn’t a ton of reporting on Ogunjobi and Elliott, so Tomlin’s update later today and practice participation on Tuesday will be our guide.
If the defense ends up being down three or four starters and then Pickens is missing on the offensive side of the ball, it’s hard to imagine the Steelers winning on the road against the Ravens. With a loss, the division crown will be in jeopardy and the Steelers could be forced to play on the road throughout the playoffs.
