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The Pittsburgh Steelers traveled back home from Saturday’s loss without an AFC North title but with plenty of concern about the status of their injured players on such a short turnaround. They’ll play their Week 17 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday this week — somewhere right around 3 days, 18 hours and 30 minutes after concluding their previous matchup.
Given the abridged schedule this week, HC Mike Tomlin held his weekly press conference on Sunday afternoon, providing several key injury updates coming out of Week 16.
The good news? Several of the players who missed Week 16 due to injury have a shot to suit up in Week 17, HC Mike Tomlin shared, including QB Justin Fields, S DeShon Elliott, CB Donte Jackson, WR George Pickens and DT Larry Ogunjobi. He didn’t guarantee anything, of course, stating that the team would “see where the week leads us.”
The bad news, however, is… pretty bad. Tomlin noted that second-year star cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who exited Week 16’s loss with a knee injury, is questionable — an absence that would certainly be felt in any matchup, but especially so against a multifaceted Kansas City Chiefs offense which just added Hollywood Brown back into the mix returning from injury.
Porter’s injury was initially reported as a calf, but reporting from Nick Farabaugh of Penn Live after the game indicated that there was concern for a PCL injury, which could indicate some potential for missed time on the horizon — terrible news at this juncture of the season with the postseason so quickly approaching and an AFC North title on the line.
Tomlin also noted that WR Ben Skowronek is questionable, having sustained a hip injury in Week 16. He’d initially left the game for evaluation though he did return after halftime, playing 18 total snaps throughout the game in a limited role. His absence would be less significant than Porter’s, of course, especially with Pickens potentially back in the mix, however he does play a crucial role on special teams.
The Steelers kick off against the Chiefs on Wednesday, December 25 at 1 p.m. ET from Acrisure Stadium. We’ll soon find out just how healthy this roster is.