By the time the Pittsburgh Steelers kick off their regular-season finale Saturday night, they will know if a division title is still attainable.
If it’s not, will coach Mike Tomlin elect to rest some key players as a means of protecting his healthy team headed into the playoffs?
“I haven’t pondered that at all, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said Monday during his final weekly news conference of the regular season. “That might be a thought for later in the week, but … I think it’s significant how (well the team is playing when) we go into this tournament, and so I doubt that I’ll be in that mentality (of holding players out).”
The Steelers (10-6) over the past three weeks have blown a two-game lead in the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens (11-5), who can clinch a second consecutive division title with a win against the Cleveland Browns in a game that kicks off at 4:30 p.m.
The Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals at 8 p.m.
Compounding the matter from a league standpoint is that Cincinnati (8-8) is alive for the No. 7 seed. The Denver Broncos, in theory, could miss out on a playoff spot in a relatively unlikely scenario because the Bengals faced Steelers’ backups and earned an “easier” win.
Even if Baltimore wins and leaves the AFC North title — and resulting No. 3 seed and home game in the first round — out of reach for the Steelers, Pittsburgh does have something on the line versus the Bengals. A win guarantees them the No. 5 seed, while a loss coupled with a Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) win Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders (4-12) would drop the Steelers to the No. 6 seed.
The No. 5 seed will play in the wild-card round against the Houston Texans (9-7), a team that has lost five of its past eight headed into its meaningless finale Sunday against the Tennessee Titans (3-13). If the Steelers get the No. 6 seed, they would have to play at the Ravens, who have won six of eight.
There’s also the more intangible aspect of “momentum” headed into the postseason. The Steelers with a defeat would carry a four-game losing streak into the playoffs.
Tomlin was asked if, in his experiences, he believed such as thing as momentum existed carrying over from a regular-season finale into a playoff game.
“You know, in some instances it has been, and in some instances it hasn’t,” he said. “But I think given a preference, you’d certainly prefer momentum.”
