The other night over on Behind the Steel Curtain, I wrote an assessment of the obstacles that stood in the way of the Steelers earning a possible bye into the second round of the playoffs.
One of those obstacles was the tiebreaker that the Houston Texans hold over Pittsburgh. Last night, Houston lost to the suddenly resurgent Indianapolis Colts, who started off 0-13 and are now playing their best football at the end of the year.
The Texans just clinched their first ever playoff spot two weeks ago, and one has to wonder if the relief of finally getting that monkey off of their back combined with their injury troubles have made the young franchise complacent and just happy to be in the playoffs. With rookie TJ Yates under center, I can certainly see the Texans going one and done in the postseason, bye or no bye.
Now, if the Steelers win their last two games and the Ravens lose another down the stretch, Pittsburgh would earn at least the number 2 seed in the AFC.
So, a bye is still possible, but the Steelers will have to try and beat the Rams without several key starters, including Ben Roethlisberger, who will reportedly miss tomorrow's game.
It looks like center Maurkice Pouncey will miss his second straight game, and linebacker Lamarr Woodley may also sit out tomorrow's action.
It's going to be interesting to see how the Steelers answer the bell over the last two weeks. Injuries can bring a team down faster than just about anything this time of year.
The Steelers can sure use that bye.
No comments:
Post a Comment