Resting Starters

Many of those were also in meaningful games against Jackson, including a victory over the Ravens earlier this season.

 

He isn't making too many mistakes as he only has thrown 4 interceptions all year and has 39 TD passes and 4,000 yards passing. The Steelers do have 2 of his 4 picks that he has thrown all year though.

 

I mean his numbers are just eye popping but…….. let’s see him make a SB. He seems to tighten up come playoff time. At Buffalo then at KC will not be an easy road after they beat whomever rd 1.

 

And the Steelers were playing with a washed up Ben, Pickett and Rudolph in some of those wins .

 

The mistakes aren't just interceptions. They are missing open receivers or fumbles at the worst possible moment, such as the one in overtime that should have cost them the first game against the Bengals.

 

The big test for Jackson is to see how he does in the playoffs. He has won multiple MVP's for the regular season but has a losing playoff record.

 

exactly - it is imperative to win Saturday and hold on to the 5. It would be wonderful to see a Steeler playoff win.

 

No resting anyone--- play to win

 

I'd just rather play Baltimore. What's it prove if we beat a weak ass, busted up Texans team? Either we're good enough or we're not. Merely delaying annihilation for a week does nothing to bring me joy.

Knocking the Ravens off of their perch would make a week 2 loss to KC or BUF totally worth it.

 

Perhaps we get the opportunity to do both

 

Responses like this never make sense to me. The goal is to find the easiest path possible. Get as far as possible before the tougher challenges. That is especially valuable for a team that has struggled the last few weeks. It would give them time to correct some of the problems in the secondary and allow the banged-up starters more opportunity to heal.

 

The easiest path to what? The SB?! C'mon, I haven't seen a single person on here who believes that's remotely probable. Do you think they'll suddenly turn into a completely revised team overnight? If they aren't good enough to beat the Bills next week, do you think beating the Texans is going to prime them for that win just seven days later? I get what you're saying mathmatically, but it's just not very realistic. So, short of winning a SB, knocking off the Ravens would almost make it worthwhile for me.

 

I couldn't care less about who they beat. The goal is to go as far as they can go and one way to do that is the easiest path.

 

This team hasn't won a playoff game in 8 years.. I'll happily take a playoff win against anybody at this point. A win is a win in the playoffs. This team has been embarrassed numerous times in the playoffs against crappy teams during the Tomlin era. Anyone thinking we'll just stroll into Houston and dominate clearly has a very short memory.

 

With much respect to your buddy because he likely understands the game. He’s wrong here. Common sense says even Tomlin realizes he’s got a better opportunity traveling to play a busted up @ Houston team vs a reasonably healthy @ Ravens team.

I’m not saying we couldn’t beat the Ravens on there turf. I’m simply stating sensible folk would rather go a bit further and play Houston. If Tomlin rested his best players in this Cinci game, that would (finally) turn me into a Tomlin hater as this would become foolishly incomprehensible

 

Heyward and Watt I expect to see less time on the field if the Ravens win the early game. Watt has not looked right the last few games, so I have no problem with TJ sitting down and letting the Kid, Nick Herbig, get some more reps.

 

LMAO !! This is such a great post because it’s so very accurate. I’m not one that thinks we’ll mosey on over to Houston for a certain victory. I just think our chances would be better there.
All that said, your point is beyond valid. I think the last time we won a playoff game was 7-8 years ago….an eternity for avid Steelers fans.

 

You play who you play. Do you really think that the Texans are an easy mark? I don't. We are at this point.

They do need to win this game to wipe off the stench and not go forward losing 4 straight limping into the playoffs.

But I don't have a positive feeling about this contest.

 

If we beat the texans, we would most likely play at KC the next week. And no, beating the Texans does nothing to help us win that 2nd game. But it does end a playoff drought which can do a lot for a team going forward into next season. Especially a very young offense which we have.

Would it mean more to play and beat the Ravens first, and then lose at KC? For us fans, absolutely. But losing that wildcard game would do more harm than good overall, IMO. I do see your point, and it is a valid point. I think the greater benefit will come from getting the playoffs monkey off our backs, and the most likely scenario for that is to go play Houston.

 

At the end of the day. The roster just isn't good enough to make a deep playoff run.

 

Depends on your definition of deep. There is the Wildcard round, the Divisional round, and the Championship round. Winning the Wildcard is the 1st goal. I think whether it is the Ravens or the Texans we have the ability to win that game. The next round would most likely have us going to KC. I think we would have a 'puncher's chance' to win that game. I would not be very confident in that though. Our defense is not built to stop what KC does.

Listing the playoff teams this season and I would feel like we could beat every team outside of KC. We could also lose at any point along the way. BUT, if setting it up like a gauntlet style challenge and see how high can you go, put us at #7. vs #6, vs #5, and so on. Any of Broncos, Dolphins, or Bengals, I think we should beat. Then the Chargers, I like us in that game. Next up are the Texans, I would take us there. Now we get to the Ravens. We do something vs Lamar that gives him trouble. But their run game gives us trouble. 50/50 game. By this scenario, I could see us as the top 3-4 team in the AFC. I actually think Buffalo falls more in our favor than does Baltimore or KC.

 

I certainly don't think the Texans are an easy mark we have maybe a 50/50 chance to win the game. But I give us a near zero chance to go to Baltimore and win.

 

Not playing to win to end regular season and losing to the bungholes would be Tomlin trademark football. 4 straight losses to end the season, then get punched in the dickhole in 1st round of playoffs. That's the Tomlin standard.