Steelers Veterans Must Stay Fresh Ahead of Week 4 Matchup in Cleveland
· Yahoo Sports
The Pittsburgh Steelers veterans know the feeling of a short week in the NFL, and it often results in two weeks running together. Both teams feel very little rest between games, and it doesn’t make the job any easier. Ahead of a divisional matchup with the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers must figure out a way to keep the more experienced players refreshed and ready to go for Thursday night’s AFC North showdown.
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Steelers Veterans Must Stay Fresh Ahead of Week 4 Matchup in Cleveland
Even though “the Browns is the Browns,” that doesn’t mean Pittsburgh can take them lightly. Both teams are 2-1 to start the season, and Cleveland has shown signs of promise after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers in back-to-back weeks.
Quick turnaround times aren’t easy in the NFL, but the Steelers are grateful this one just happened to be in the early part of the season. Head coach Mike McCarthy kept it simple in practice on Monday and Tuesday, but he had the players go through stretching and walkthroughs ahead of the divisional matchup.
“The great thing about it is, they got to deal with the same problems that we are, so it’s an even playing field, and it’s just about taking care of your body and making sure you’re mentally sharp,” Cam Heyward told Chris Adamski of Trib Live. “Tough games, but the main thing is staying off of our feet, taking care of our bodies, but also making sure we’re mentally sharp and ready to go for Thursday.”
Steelers veterans are getting a different taste of a short week this year with a new coaching regime, and hopefully it leads to greener pastures on the field. Pittsburgh has been the same team as it normally is on Thursday night matchups. That has led to a 14-22 overall record on a short week, including an abysmal 0-9 on the road and 0-4 in Cleveland.
By contrast, McCarthy holds a 16-6 record on Thursday Night Football.
Steelers Injury Report on Short Week
A few Steelers veterans found themselves on the injury report ahead of the second divisional showdown this year, but it’s a position Pittsburgh certainly won’t take for granted with just four players on the injury report through three games.
Rico Dowdle did not participate in either walkthrough, so it is very likely to be the Jaylen Warren show once again in the backfield in Cleveland. Warren ran for 127 yards on 17 carries in the win against Cincinnati, and he looks to post another stellar performance.
The other three players are all in the secondary, as Steelers fans saw Brandin Echols and Jalen Ramsey both get the limited participant tag. Echols’ status is to be determined with a concussion, while Ramsey could miss the game due to a broken wrist. Ramsey wants to play, but he admitted it’s still up in the air.
“It’s just going to be about seeing if I’m able to protect it and also still be myself in a good enough capacity where I feel like if I go out there, I won’t be letting any of my teammates down,” Ramsey told ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
Lastly, Joey Porter Jr. was a full participant as he continues to go through conditioning work. Of the Steelers veterans on the injury report, he is the most likely to play Thursday night in Cleveland.
The Last Word
To say it bluntly, it’s put up or shut up with Porter Jr. He has repeated on multiple occasions that he will play once he’s healthy and up to speed, and many Steelers veterans have expressed their support for him to play (and get paid). However, two days of full participation show he is clearly ready to go. If he still doesn’t play, his time in Pittsburgh is all but over.
Offensively, Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the group need to replicate their performance against the Bengals. If the offense plays the same way it did on Sunday, Pittsburgh is walking out of the short week 3-1.
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Main Photo Courtesy of Barry Reeger – Imagn Images