3 reasons resting Ben Roethlisberger could backfire on Steelers
By Tommy Jaggi
Steelers could lose a shot at the second seed in the playoffs
Arguably the biggest reason resting Ben Roethlisberger could backfire on the Steelers has to do with playoff seeding. Thanks to a loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football in Week 14, Pittsburgh would eventually trade positions with the Bills in the playoff picture, as the Steelers fell to the number three seed after their loss to the Bengals. But not all hope is lost yet.
The Dolphins require a win this week against the Bills to get into the tournament, and Miami has been a very good team this year. If they are able to take care of business against Buffalo, all Pittsburgh has to do is win against the Browns to claim the number two seed in the AFC.
Why is this so important? The answer is rather simple. Though we don’t know at this point who the Steelers will get matched up against in the first round, earning the number two seed would allow them to avoid the Kansas City Chiefs until the AFC Championship Game and could give a team like the Bills a chance to knock them out of the playoffs before the Steelers ever have to play them. With the Chiefs being the most dominant team in the league this year, Pittsburgh should be doing everything in their power to avoid them in the playoffs, and getting the number two seed could potentially offer that.
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At the end of the day, it’s not that I disagree with Pittsburgh’s decision to rest their aging quarterback before the playoffs, but I have seen this scenario play out before and the results were not good. Let’s hope that when Ben Roethlisberger returns to the field, he will pick right up where he left off.