According to murphy’s law, if anything can go wrong, it will. That happened to the Steelers in their Monday game against Washington.
Having lost Devin Bush and Bud Dupree to ACL tears along with an injury to Ulysees Gilbert’s back that sent him to the injured reserve list, the Steelers depth at linebacker had already become critically low. Then the situation somehow managed to worsen, Robert Spillane injured his knee in the second half on Monday.
With the Steelers already starting their backup linebackers, they could ill afford to have additional injuries in that position. Yet that is what happened. There is some good news, though. Steven Nelson returned to practice Wednesday morning, so it appears that he is on track to return. That’s huge as Joe Haden will be questionable for the Bills game. On Tuesday, the Steelers announced James Conner and Maurkice Pouncey might come off the COVID-19 list, meaning both could return for the Bills game. It looks like that will happen, but fans must wait until the weekend for confirmation. Coach Tomlin covered injuries in his latest press conference.
Now the ultimate question is how do these mounting injuries affect one of the best defensive squads the Steelers have ever fielded. Especially since they have to play the AFC East’s first-place 9-3 Buffalo Bills, who beat the injury-laden Steelers in 2019 and the 8-4 Indianapolis Colts. Then the Steelers play the 9-3 Browns, who have won four straight and are having their best season since 2007.
What a difference three weeks makes. Prior to the Ravens game, the only worry the Steelers had was staying undefeated. Now the problem is trying to avoid losing any of their last four with mounting injuries. With that, here is the latest injury report from Wednesday afternoon.