After missing several starters in their Saturday game against the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers look poised to get several key players back for their Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday.
That includes one of their most important players, wide receiver George Pickens.
Pickens, safety DeShon Elliott, defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi and cornerback Donte Jackson were all full participants in practice this week and were not listed on Tuesday’s injury report. That opens the door for all of them to return on Wednesday.
Starting cornerback Joey Porter Jr. did not practice and is considered out for the game. While the absence of Porter is a big one to overcome, it might be balanced by the fact the Steelers are getting the aforementioned quartet back for Wednesday. None of those returns could be more impactful than Pickens.
Pickens is not only the Steelers’ No. 1 wide receiver and biggest playmaker, but he is the best player at the position on their depth chart. He has missed the past three games due to a hamstring injury, and the Steelers offense and passing game have all struggled mightily in his absence. They do not have enough depth at the position to make up for his absence, and nobody can stretch the defense and open things up downfield.
Getting him back — assuming he is 100 percent healthy — should give quarterback Russell Wilson his preferred target in the downfield passing game.
While Pickens is a huge addition to the offense, the returns of Elliott, Ogunjobi and Jackson are also significant. Elliott and Ogunjobi are two of the Steelers’ better run-stoppers, and their absence played a huge role in the inability to stop Derrick Henry on Saturday.
Jackson leads the Steelers in interceptions, and after Porter left Saturday’s game, it left them without both of their starting cornerbacks and three of the four starters in their secondary (Elliott, Jackson and Porter).
Even without Porter, getting two starters back will be potentially significant against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
When healthy, the Steelers have been one of the better teams in the NFL this season. Injuries have played a big role in their back-to-back defeats to the Philadelphia Eagles and Ravens.
The Steelers (10-5) are tied with the Ravens for the top spot in the AFC North entering the week but still control the division. If they simply win their two remaining games (against the Chiefs on Wednesday and at home against the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday), they win the division no matter what. If they lose one of those two games, they will need the Ravens to lose one of their remaining two games.
