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The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t been overly aggressive on the practice front heading into Week 17’s showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, set to play Wednesday, December 25 as the first of two games on the Christmas Day slate. It’s a mega-tight turnaround, having just played Saturday afternoon with several key injuries to be mindful of heading into this matchup.
The Steelers have yet to hold a formal practice through the week, having released an estimated practice report on Sunday and completing a walkthrough on Monday, but generally speaking, the team has received mostly good news.
Here’s a full breakdown of the latest on the Steelers’ injury report for Monday, December 23 ahead of Week 17.
Steelers injury report: Monday, Dec. 23
DNP: WR Ben Skowronek (hip), CB Joey Porter Jr. (knee)
Limited: QB Justin Fields (abdomen)
Full: DT Larry Ogunjobi (groin), WR George Pickens (hamstring), S DeShon Elliott (hamstring), CB Donte Jackson (back), LB Tyler Matakevich (knee)
Except for CB Joey Porter Jr. and WR Ben Skowronek, who suffered their respective injuries in Week 16’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, all players with an injury designation on Sunday’s estimated report saw an upgrade in their participation — awesome news.
Particularly exciting for the Steelers is the fact that WR George Pickens looks likely to make his return here against the Chiefs from a hamstring injury that’s kept him out of each of the past three matchups. It’s the first stretch of time Pickens has ever missed in his professional career, and his absence was sorely felt; in the past three weeks, the Steelers have averaged just 19 points and 248.3 net yards per game compared to 28.7 and 389.7 per game, respectively, in the six games prior with Russell Wilson under center.
The Defense has struggled with their injuries, too, with three starters out against the Ravens in Week 16, including S DeShon Elliott, DT Larry Ogunjobi and CB Donte Jackson. The team has allowed 27 points in each of the past two games, with 400+ yards allowed.
Given the timing of the injuries for Porter and Skowrenek, it seems likely that the team is not expecting to have them available for Week 17 against the Chiefs. However, for everyone else, it’s looking like wheels up.
If the Steelers have each of those listed as full participants available to them in Week 17, what do you think their chances are to pull out a win over the Kansas City Chiefs?