Schedule, Injuries and COVID-19 Are Finally Catching up With Steelers
The Pittsburg Steelers took their first loss of the season in Week 13 and more could be on the way given the team's health situation. Though many things went wrong in their loss to the Washington Football Team, their schedule situation and injuries played a significant role.
Looking ahead, things aren't much better for this week's game with the Buffalo Bills.
Remember, the Steelers haven't had a legitimate bye week this year. They had a few days off back in Week 4 while the Tennessee Titans dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak.
Recently, they had a couple more days off as their game with the Baltimore Ravens was re-scheduled three different times due to Baltimore's COVID-19 issues. It doesn't take a long glance at the team's injury report to notice that this lack of a true bye week is starting to take its toll.
It's not just the lack of a bye week that has been a problem, though. Just take a look at the loss to Washington. Originally, each team was supposed to have nine days off following their games played on Thanksgiving. Instead, the Steelers played the Ravens on a Wednesday and Washington on the following Monday. So, Washington had 10 days off before the game with the Steelers, while Pittsburgh had just four.
That made a huge difference, as we saw towards the end of the game when the Steelers wore down in the fourth quarter while Washington picked it up.
The schedule changes have now impacted this week's game with the Bills, too. Instead of having the usual six days off between games, the Steelers only have five because they unexpectedly played on Monday this week.
Of course, the Bills played on Monday, too, so neither team is entering the game with an advantage in the rest department. Nonetheless, it's an extra day between games that Pittsburgh was supposed to have, but didn't.
Another storyline from the Washington game was the injuries the Steelers were dealing with. They lost Bud Dupree to a season-ending ACL tear in the game with the Ravens. Maurkice Pouncey and James Conner missed the Washington game due to being on the COVID-19 list, while Steven Nelson missed with a knee injury.
During the game, Robert Spillane went down with a knee injury of his own and Joe Haden left with a concussion. The concussion is a big deal, especially on a short week, because when a player enters concussion protocol, his game status is totally out of his control.
The Steelers added more bad news Thursday when they placed Vince Williams on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. It has not been specified if he was a positive test or a close contact, but he will miss Sunday's game either way.
Remember that Spillane injury we were talking about? He hasn't practiced this week and there's no chance he plays Sunday, so the team will be without their top two linebackers.
Chase Claypool also didn't practice with an illness. Of course, that doesn't guarantee he has COVID-19, so we won't speculate on that any further. Regardless, it's a situation to monitor.
Haden also didn't practice due to his concussion, which is not a promising sign for his status on Sunday.
It wasn't all bad news in the recent report, though. Chris Boswell was a full participant with his hip injury. That's a great sign because the Steelers clearly made some decisions against Washington that they wouldn't have made if Boswell was healthy for the game. Also, with Haden being a veteran, odds are that if he's cleared at all, even if it's Saturday and he gets no practice in, he'll play in the game.
There is no doubt that injuries/COVID-19 had an effect on the loss to Washington. And with the way things are looking now, the Steelers might be headed for two losses in a row, thanks in large part to injuries and the pandemic.
They still have some great players on their defense. But they will be playing without their top two linebackers, potentially their best coverage cornerback, and their starting center. Pouncey still hasn't been removed from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, so it's looking unlikely that he'll play Sunday.
The biggest shame is that the Steelers' crazy schedule was through no fault of their own. Each time they had games moved around, it was because of the opponents having issues with COVID. They lost their bye week. Due to the injuries piling up, their odds of getting a bye in the playoffs aren't looking great. That would mean that if the team made the Super Bowl, they would be playing in 16 straight weeks in order to get there. Is it possible? Sure. But it's far from ideal.
Connor Deitrich is a Contributor with AllSteelers. Follow Connor on Twitter @CDeitrich22, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
