The Pittsburgh Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin will have a lot of information when they take the field Saturday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. They are one game behind the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North title, and the Ravens play at 4:30 pm on Saturday. If the Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns, they lock up the division title. If the Browns win, the Steelers will have an opportunity to take the division championship with a win over the Bengals.
So what will Tomlin do if the Ravens win? Will he take the opportunity to rest some of his key starters who have dealt with some injury issues? Tomlin expects CB Joey Porter Jr. to be back on the field Saturday against the Bengals. But would Tomlin consider sitting him and others like WR George Pickens if the AFC North is already decided?
“I haven’t pondered that at all, to be quite honest with you,” said Tomlin during his Monday press conference per video from the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “That might be a thought for later in the week, but as I mentioned, I think it is significant how we go into this tournament. So I doubt I will be in that mentality.”
It might be different if the Steelers had played better over the past three weeks. But they are reeling from a three-game losing streak. They’re also facing a divisional opponent looking to keep their playoff hopes alive. This is as close to playoff football as you can get without it actually being the postseason.
Tomlin wants his team to play the best football possible heading into the postseason. And what better way to prepare than a heavyweight bout with a tough divisional opponent in the Bengals? After all, the two faced off in a crazy 44-38 win for the Steelers earlier this season. And the Bengals are on a four-game winning streak since that game.
This is not the position the Steelers or Mike Tomlin hoped to be in on the eve of the playoffs. But as a head coach, he has to figure out the best way to handle this situation. He wants his team fully healthy for the playoffs. But he also wants his team to play better football than they have during the past three weeks. How he navigates that space will be interesting to see. But he does seem to be leaning toward being more concerned about how his team is playing. And that would mean seeing the full complement of healthy players playing a long time Saturday night.
Of course, what Mike Tomlin really wants is for this discussion to become totally moot. That would mean the Browns beat the Ravens, leaving the Steelers a chance to win the division. That would mean no choices needing to be made on Saturday.
But only time will tell whether those decisions will be simply a mental exercise or need to be made with football implications.
