Outside of clinching the AFC North, the best news for the Steelers came on the injury front

The Pittsburgh Steelers are not alone in the fact they have been a banged up football team throughout the 2020 regular season; however, the last few weeks the team has been hit hard at specific positions. Most notably, the Steelers have been losing players at both the inside linebacker and guard positions.

It may seem crazy to think about, but could the Steelers be getting healthy at the right time, heading into the playoffs? It is a possibility, mainly after the Steelers were able to escape Week 16 with a 28-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Heinz Field without major injury.

Mike Tomlin had this to say in his post-game press conference:

“Not a lot to speak about from an injury standpoint, thankfully.” Tomlin said. “We’ve struggled with that in recent weeks. Hopefully we start to get some of these guys back. It was good to get James Conner back today, for example.”

Who would be some of those players the team could be getting back in the near future? At first take a look no further than the players who missed the Week 16 game with various ailments.

Marcus Allen (shoulder)
Ulysees Gilbert III (ankle)
Ola Adeniyi (shoulder)
Chris Boswell (groin)

Outside of some of the above players potentially coming back to the team prior to the Week 17 game vs. the Browns and Cleveland, or the playoffs, there is also hope some other big names could return to the lineup before the Steelers’ first postseason game.

Both injuries to both guard Matt Feiler (pectoral) and linebacker Robert Spillane (knee) were not thought to be season-ending injuries at the time of them being hurt. If they could get even one of the aforementioned players back for the playoffs it would be a big boost at the two positions of need.

The Steelers’ win in Week 16 gives them some flexibility in Week 17, as it relates to them potentially resting players, and Mike Tomlin will certainly talk about this more on Tuesday in his weekly press conference. With that said, be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black and gold as they prepare for the regular season finale.