Division title could cap week
In two days, the Steelers can win the AFC North for the third time in four years. They can take another step toward earning a bye in the first round of the NFL playoffs, something that seems like a necessity at this point with all the injuries that have ravaged the squad in the past month.
“Honestly, as hard as it is, you just have to focus on the mission at hand,” Williams said. “It’s a division game. It’s a chance for us to close out the division. We just have to go out there and do our jobs, really. It’s going to be difficult, but we have to do it. It’s a biggame.”
The Steelers are trying to win the AFC North for the eighth time since it was formed in 2002. That would be half the division titles in the division’s 16-year existence. The Bengals have won it four times and the Ravens three.
The Steelers have a threegame lead in the division with four games remaining.
“I think we’ve been focused,” receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said. “Everyone has been on top of their game since we came in Wednesday to start the week, and it’s been continuing all week. We understand the goal here. We understand there are other things going on with Ryan, but we’re here to win a football game. It’s just a part of the game. You have to focus and win.”
Starting in 2014, one of the traditions after clinching the division have been players donning “Steelers Run The North” T-shirts in the locker room after the clinching win. They did it in 2014 after beating the Bengals in the regular-season finale at Heinz Field, and they did it a year ago after beating the Ravens on Christmas Day.
They would like nothing more than to deliver one of those T-shirts late Sunday to Shazier.
“If we take of business we’ll be able to do that,” HeywardBey said. “As long as we execute we’ll be able to bring a Tshirt home to Ryan.”
Shazier has been in contact with several of his teammates throughout the week. He has asked them to focus onthe game.
“He wants us to succeed,” defensive end Cameron Heyward said. “He knows if we succeed, he succeeds.”
“Everybody knows how much this game means to Ryan,” Williams added. “I can’t really say we’re going to play for him, but it’s that little added incentive. We understand you can’t take this for granted. It’s a blessing to be able to play this game. It’s a very violent game. At any moment you can suffer an injury. You can’t take any play for granted. You can’t take any game for granted. You just have to play as hard as you can when you have the ability.”