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12/30 12:47 CST Steelers could have T.J. Watt back for 'AFC North championship'
showdown against Ravens
Steelers could have T.J. Watt back for 'AFC North championship' showdown
against Ravens
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- The Pittsburgh Steelers could have outside linebacker T.J.
Watt back for their "win or go home" showdown with Baltimore for the AFC North
title on Sunday night.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he's "more optimistic" than he has been that the
perennial Pro Bowl edge rusher will be available after sitting out each of the
past three games while recovering from surgery to repair a partially collapsed
lung sustained following a dry needling treatment.
Tomlin added he'd like to see Watt practice fully at some point this week. Watt
was a limited participant last week before being held out of Sunday's 13-6 loss
to Cleveland, a setback that cost the Steelers (9-7) a chance to wrap up the
division with a week to go.
Now, Pittsburgh either needs to win or tie the Ravens (8-8) on Sunday night to
win the AFC North for the first time since 2020.
Tomlin doesn't think Watt's extended downtime will have a significant impact on
the 31-year-old Watt's stamina, should he be cleared to play.
"I doubt that TJ is ever out of football shape or conditioning over the course
of a 12-month calendar," Tomlin said. "I just know how he lives his life and
how he prepares and how thoughtful he is in terms of what he puts in his body
and how we trains."
While Watt's familiar No. 90 could return, massive tight end Darnell Washington
is out indefinitely after having surgery on Monday for a broken arm suffered in
the first half against the Browns. Tomlin did not rule out Washington's
potential availability should Pittsburgh advance to the playoffs, though the
Steelers would likely need to make a deep run to have any chance of seeing the
uniquely talented 6-foot-7, 300-plus-pound Washington in the huddle.
Wide receiver Calvin Austin III (hamstring), veteran left guard Isaac Seumalo
(triceps), cornerback Brandon Echols (groin) and cornerback James Pierre (calf)
--- all of whom sat out last week --- could return against the Ravens.
The Steelers will need as many healthy bodies available as possible,
particularly on offense, to avoid a stunning late collapse. Pittsburgh
sputtered in Cleveland without suspended wide receiver DK Metcalf, who will
also sit out this week as punishment for making contact with a fan in Detroit
earlier this month.
Pittsburgh managed just 160 net yards passing against the Browns, a big chunk
of it coming on a last-second drive that ended with Aaron Rodgers throwing
incomplete in the end zone to wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on three
consecutive plays.
Rodgers had perhaps his best game of the season in Pittsburgh's road win at
Baltimore on Dec. 7, thanks in large part to a seven-catch, 148-yard
performance from Metcalf. Downfield shots were nowhere to be found on a
blustery day in Cleveland, where Rodgers' longest completion was a 29-yarder to
tight end Pat Freiermuth.
While Tomlin allowed both teams will add a "wrinkle" or two in the rematch, the
reality is scheme is unlikely to play a significant role in a series that has
produced its fair share of memorable high-stakes meetings through the years.
The stakes should keep the Steelers from having a hangover after letting the
lowly Browns jump to an early 10-point lead before holding on.
Asked if it was frustrating to lose to a team that came in with just three wins
on the season with so much on the line, Tomlin shrugged.
"Man, there's a lot of things that you could get frustrated about in our
business," he said. "I've learned to kind of always move forward. My windshield
is much bigger than my rearview."
Maybe, but there's a chance the game could also be the 264th and final
regular-season game of quarterback Aaron Rodgers' Hall of Fame-caliber career.
The 42-year-old four-time MVP said over the summer that his 21st season could
be his last, though he also said last week he feels as if he's aging backward
and has been relatively healthy save for a broken left wrist that forced him to
sit out a loss to Chicago in late November.
Rodgers said on Sunday that he expects Pittsburgh to recover and beat the
Ravens. That inherent confidence is one of the reasons the Steelers spent
months courting him in free agency last spring.
"That's one of the things that made him really attractive to us, that ?can do'
attitude and the experience and resume that goes with it," Tomlin said. "I
don't think it's work for him. I think it is as natural as breathing. And so if
he's breathing, I expect to see that from him as we lean in on this game."
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