BALTIMORE (93.7 The Fan) – It’s said by parents it’s harder to watch a game than to play in it. The Steelers experienced both emotions in one day. Scoreboard watching as Jacksonville upset the Colts, they then had to fight to win their own game against the Ravens in overtime. Then watch the Chargers and Raiders go back and forth in overtime in a game deciding their fate.
If LA and Las Vegas tied, both the Chargers and Raiders would make the playoffs and the Steelers would be out. Both teams made field goals in overtime and now it’s LV’s ball. Raiders burn clock moving into LA territory and while wondering if they might just let it end a tie, Vegas calls time out with two seconds left. Kicker Daniel Carlson makes a 47-yard field goal sending the Steelers into the playoffs.
Steelers will play at Kansas City Sunday at 8:15.
“We still have a pulse if you give us a chance,” said Steelers OLB TJ Watt. “To get us in the dance, anything can happen, and that’s where we are right now. So, [we’re] hungrier than ever. We want to continue to play football, continue to make plays. A lot of guys in there are ready to get into the facility tomorrow, watch some film and move forward.”
“There are things we can clean up, but at the end of the day, it’s about getting W’s,” said Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward. “You are judged on your W’s. You’re not going to say how you got in. But, you get a chance to get in the playoffs, you’re in. We’re going to be playing some quality opponents. There are going to be some things to clean up, but I look forward to cleaning it up and not packing it up.”
Can’t think of a game where they had more to clean up than a couple of weeks ago against Kansas City. Steelers trailed 30-0 as Patrick Mahomes threw for three touchdowns, final was 36-10.
“It doesn’t matter, everyone is 0-0,” said receiver Chase Claypool. “Whatever happened we look at it as good film to watch, learn from it and move on.”
If the Steelers had taken care of business against Detroit or in one of their seven losses, it wouldn’t have come down to sweating out a crazy Raiders-Chargers game. Never mind the fact the score of the Jacksonville game was shown constantly and occasionally announced in Baltimore.
“I’m not worried about it one iota,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “We had a job to do in our stadium. We did it. So, we’re prepared to deal with whatever the consequences are. The other things that are outside of our control—we gave that up weeks ago. What we needed to get done today, we did it, and they should be proud of that.”
Doing their job and the help from Jacksonville and the Raiders. The team Tomlin said was left for dead, gets a shot in the postseason.