There is no such thing as rest for the weary in the NFL. And that is certainly the case for the Steelers, who returned to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 34-17 loss at Baltimore on Saturday.
With a Christmas Day matchup with the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs upcoming in just a few days, head coach Mike Tomlin and his staff have to figure out a way to end a two-game losing streak and keep their hopes of winning the AFC North title alive.
"There's a reason why they're pursuing their third-straight championship," Tomlin said. "You see it when you watch their video. … This is a three phase outfit, and that's why they're 14-1. They've been in a lot of close ball games, but good teams find a way to win those games, and they've done so really consistently, and I just think it reflects who they are. And so we are working on a short week, but we're working with an edge.
"We're honored and excited about competing on Christmas and being a part of that, but we're also excited about being in a big game against a really good team in our home venue and getting back to the business. And obviously our business is winning."
The Steelers (10-5) would like to get back to that. After playing four of their past five games on the road and going 2-3 in that stretch, the Steelers will be glad to be finishing off the regular season with a pair of home games, even if it is on another short week.
Despite their recent stumbles, the Steelers have already clinched a spot in the AFC playoffs, while the Chiefs are vying to the No. 1-overall seed in the AFC.
But Saturday's loss to the Ravens allowed Baltimore to pull into a tie with the Steelers atop the AFC North standings. However, if the Steelers win their final two games, they'll assure themselves of the AFC North title and another home game in the postseason.
Beating Kansas City and quarterback Patrick Mahomes would be one step in that direction, but it also would help the Steelers right the ship after a difficult stretch of games.
Doing that against a battle-tested group such as the Chiefs would also be a feather in their collective hats, as well. Kansas City hasn't blown opponents out as frequently as it has in recent seasons, but the Chiefs are 11-0 in games decided by eight points or less this season, showing its overall mettle.
"I don't know how dominant they need to be. I mean, they're 14-1," Tomlin said. "This is the ultimate parity league. Often these games come down to one score, and the good teams find a way to get out of stadiums, and they usually find a way to get out of stadiums with great consistency. And they've done that. They're 14-1, they are two-time defending World Champs. I see them in that regard, and I'm preparing with that edge."
Injury update: The Steelers played against the Ravens with several starters sidelined because of injuries – defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, safety DeShon Elliott, cornerback Donte Jackson and wide receiver George Pickens.
Tomlin said Sunday that group all has a chance to return this week against the Chiefs, even though the only day of "practice" the team will officially have is on Monday.
"All have an opportunity to play this week, but we'll see where the week leads us from, from their inclusion," Tomlin said, later adding, "It's about their health. There's not going to be a lot of physical opportunity for anybody to display readiness this week on a short week, and so it's really about them getting the clean bill of health and us being able to forecast the amount of snaps that they can take from a conditioning perspective or health perspective."
Tomlin was not as optimistic about two players injured during the loss to the Ravens, cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (knee) and wide receiver Ben Skowronek (hip).
"Their availability remains questionable. I just don't have a lot of new information on those guys, given that we just played last night, and we're still in the process of assessing the state of some of those things," Tomlin said. "But anybody that didn't make it out of the stadium yesterday on four-day turnarounds will probably have a difficult time showing for this one."
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast Pittonline@iheartmedia.com
Communication breakdowns: Porter left Saturday's game in the first half and briefly returned in the second half before being shut down for the day because of a knee issue.
That left the Steelers without three of their four starting defensive backs, putting several players into higher-profile situations than which they are accustomed.
And that directly led to some breakdowns in coverages, particularly on Baltimore touchdown passes to tight ends Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews.
Couple that with the Steelers' inability to slow running back Derrick Henry sufficiently – he had 162 rushing yards on 24 carries – and Tomlin wasn't pleased re-watching the game tape.
"When you've got some quarterback mobility and some of these diverse attacks that you see, it stresses you," Tomlin said. "And in some instances, we played some guys in some different spots because of the lack of Deshaun Elliott. And that creates some complexities to already a complex discussion in terms of the gap integrity and the tackling and the communication around some of those attacks, but we should be better this time of year.
"I was really displeased with the two red zone touchdowns, for example, to the tight ends. It's just too late in the year to have guys running open like that, to be quite honest with you. So we've got some work to do this week in terms of shoring some of that up. Your ability to make people settle for field goals is significant this time of year, particularly when it's good on good."
