Seattle (Week 17)

Pittsburgh Steelers fans, your team has flown across the country to take on the Seahawks tomorrow. As expected, Myles Jack and Eric Rowe have been elevated from the practice squad again for this week game. The final injury report listed Kenny Pickett as “questionable;” we will see if he is made the back up in Seattle. If he is truly healthy, I think he has to be available in case things go south for Mason early. This is a do or die game for the Steelers and they need to have all hands on deck that can help them win. I understand that many in the media are making a big story out of what it means for Kenny if he is healthy but not playing and what is says about the coaches faith in him; however, I think the media speculates and generates a lot of opinions that are not grounded in what is really going on in that locker room. Personally, I think Kenny wants to play. He is a competitor and wants to contribute to the cause; however, the Steelers know that rushing him back and risking further injury could be catastrophic. In addition, the Steelers had their best offensive game of the season last week, thus making it nearly impossible to not play Mason (at least at the start of the game). I think there will be an actual QB controversy if Mason plays extremely well again this week in a win. If that happens, the Steelers will no longer be able to lean on the “injury” excuse as to why Kenny is not QB1. Worrying about these hypotheticals is pointless and does not impact the Steelers in this moment. The task at hand is to beat the Seahawks.

After final review of this week’s practice, injuries, and stats, it appears this game is going to be evenly matched. The Steelers are going to need a solid run game to control the time of possession and not get behind. The Seahawks have a better receiving core and QB than the Bengals and thus will be vulnerable in the depleted secondary. However, the Steelers should be able to run the ball successfully and score points. If the Steelers can play mistake free football on offense, and score 23-27 points, and they can limit the damage that 13 personnel group (3 TEs and 1 RB) does to slot corners, the Steelers SHOULD win this game.

Final prediction: Steelers 27 Seahawks 16