Hey, for this 2019 Steelers team, losing two key starters to injury almost qualifies as a win.
Not that the challenge in Week 17 against the Ravens becomes any easier without Maurkice Pouncey (knee) and James Conner (quad), but this is a team that's played without Ben Roethlisberger since the second quarter of Week 2 and has also dealt with injuries to Mason Rudolph, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ramon Foster, Conner, Jaylen Samuels, Benny Snell, James Washington, and Vance McDonald — and that's just on offense.
They've also played twice without Pouncey's services, as he was suspended two games for his involvement in the late-game brawl during the Steelers' Week 11 matchup vs. the Browns. With B.J. Finney filling in for the team's Week 12 game vs. the Bengals and the Week 13 rematch against the Browns, the Steelers went 2-0, so it's not like Finney is incapable of getting the job done in Week 17 against the Ravens.
Finney also filled in for Foster at left guard during the team's Week 9, 26-24 win over the Colts.
The situation is similar for Conner, who injured his shoulder during the team's Week 8 win over the Dolphins then missed two consecutive games before attempting to come back in Week 11 against the Browns. Conner, however, re-injured his shoulder in that game and missed the team's next three, bumping his total to five games missed on the year. Add in this Week 17 showdown vs. the Ravens, and Conner has missed 38 percent of the team's games outright while also being sidelined mid-game with injuries in three other instances.
Most recently, Conner suffered a quad injury early in the second quarter of the Steelers' 16-10 loss to the Jets in East Rutherford, N.J.:
Later that same game, Pouncey went down in obvious pain and needed assistance from the team's athletic trainers to get off the field:
Beyond Pouncey and Conner, however, the Steelers will enter their regular-season finale at relatively full strength:
On the other side, the Ravens will reportedly rest Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram, Marshal Yanda, Earl Thomas, Brandon Williams and potentially more, giving a little more hope to Steeler Nation heading into the clash. In addition, Ravens tight end Mark Andrews (ankle), cornerback Marcus Peters (chest), cornerback Jimmy Smith (groin) and receiver Marquise Brown (illness) are all questionable for Week 17, per the team's official injury report.
The Steelers need this one, too.
To qualify for the playoffs, they'll need a win in Baltimore plus a Titans loss ... or this way-more-ridiculous scenario.
