Team resumes practice expecting to play the Ravens on Tuesday night
The Steelers resumed preparations on Sunday for their game against the Ravens after what turned into one of the strangest weeks in franchise history.
A Thanksgiving night game turned into a Sunday afternoon game which turned into a Tuesday night game after a major COVID-19 outbreak in Baltimore and a mini-outbreak with the Steelers that now includes five players on the COVID list plus two coaches that won’t be able to participate in the game.
In between the scheduling mayhem, the Steelers did not practice for three consecutive days. In many ways it’s an unprecedented week for the team.
“We had a holiday, so it was nice from that perspective,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “I know our players have enjoyed the three days’ rest. There was a lot of energy at practice today. I really think it can be a positive thing if we make it that, and I know that’s our intentions. I know it is for me.”
The Steelers went through their first practice since Wednesday and did so without running back James Conner, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. Defensive linemen Stephon Tuitt and Isaiah Buggs and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins also went on the COVID list on Friday and won’t be able to play in Tuesday night’s game.
Whatever interruptions and inconvenience the Steelers experienced last week, the Ravens went through much more. After Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews was placed on the COVID list on Sunday, the Ravens now have 20 players on the list. Other starters include quarterback Lamar Jackson, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mark Ingram, defensive linemen Calais Campbell and Brandon Williams and outside linebackers Matt Judon, Pernell McPhee and Jaylon Ferguson.
The Ravens had 14 Pro Bowl players from their 2019 team that went 14-2 and earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. On Tuesday, only four of them will be available against the Steelers. Six are on the COVID list.
In order to field a team on Tuesday night, the Ravens are going to have to call up most of the players from their practice squad. Even then, they’ll enter the game with maybe one backup at many positions on the team.
Robert Griffin III will start at quarterback for the Ravens. It was Griffin who led the Ravens to a 28-12 victory against the Steelers in the 2019 regular season finale in Baltimore. Running back Gus Edwards, who is expected to start at running back, rushed for 130 of the Ravens’ 223 yards that afternoon.
“You have to be ready for schemes,” Heyward said. “We have to understand the personality of their team, what they like to run. They have a mobile quarterback who has beaten us this last time. Their defense is opportunistic, and they can be on long fields and have a kicker that can buy them out of any situation. I know we are dealing with a lot of uncertainty with guys going in and out, but we will deal with that when the time comes. We are ready for what they throw at us.”