‘We just have to be ready’
preferred path to the Super Bowl, but going one week without playing can be problematic for some teams. Teams that play on wild-card weekend are in a rhythm and it sometimes can take a few series for the rested team to get into the flow of a playoff game.
For Ben Roethlisberger, it will be 20 days between games. The same goes for Le’Veon Bell, offensive linemen Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro and defensive end Cameron Heyward, all of whom were rested against the Browns.
“I don’t think rust will set in because we know what we have to do,” Heyward said.
The Steelers won after their regular-season bye in November, but it wasn’t pretty. They sputtered early and often against a bad Indianapolis Colts team and needed 17 second-half points to eke out a 20-17 victory.
“It’s a different week in a different situation,” offensive lineman Ramon Foster said. “We’ll be all right.”
Could the Steelers learn anything from the way they dealt with their previous off week this season?
“Yeah, don’t start slow,” Heyward joked.
“We just have to be ready for any situation,” Heyward continued. “We don’t know how that game will unfold whether we start fast or start slow. You have to be ready for every situation in the playoffs because every game gets kicked up a notch. Every game becomes more and more critical. One yard turns into 2 yards. One first down turns into two first downs. You have to be ready for every situation.”
After four consecutive playoffs appearances when the Steelers had to play on wild-card weekend, it’s clear the players are welcoming the bye and whatever minor nuisances that might come with it. They’ve had to win three playoff games to get to the Super Bowl in recent years. Now all they have to do is win three games to be crowned Super Bowl champions.
“Time to go on a threegame winning streak,” Heyward said.
Rookies set the pace
Juju Smith-Schuster not only set the franchise record Sunday for receiving yards by a rookie, but his 917 receiving yards also were the most of any rookie receiver in the league this season. And how about this little nugget: Smith-Schuster, who was selected with the No. 62 overall pick in the second round, compiled almost twice as many yards as the three receivers that were drafted in the first round combined.
Corey Davis, the No. 5 overall pick of the Tennessee Titans, finished the season with 375 yards; Mike Williams, the No. 7 overall pick of the Los Angeles Chargers, had 95 receiving yards; and John Ross of the Cincinnati Bengals, the No. 9 overall pick, did not have any catches or yards. That’s a grand total of 470 yards for the trio of first-round picks, or 447 fewer than SmithSchuster.
The next closest rookie was Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams, who finished with 62 receptions for 869 yards.
Perhaps the most impressive part for Smith-Schuster was he did all of his damage in 14 games. He missed one game due to injury and another due to a suspension.
First-round pick T.J. Watt also stacked up well in comparison to his peers, too. Watt had as many sacks as No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett of the Browns. Each finished with seven in their rookie campaigns. The only rookie with more sacks was Carl Lawson of the Bengals. Lawson, who was drafted in the fourth round, had eight sacks.
“They have been mature beyond their years,” Tomlin said of Watt and SmithSchuster.
Looking ahead to 2018
The 2018 home and road opponents are set for the Steelers. They will face six teams that made the playoffs, with four of those teams coming at Heinz Field.
The Steelers will face the Baltimore Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots at Heinz Field. They will play the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Oaklnad Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road.