The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 7-6 and grabbed maintain of first place within the AFC North standings through a gritty 27-22 win over the rival Baltimore Ravens (6-7) on Sunday.
Following the victory, veteran Steelers edge-rusher Alex Highsmith provided a little bit of a warning to the remainder of the NFL relating to what Pittsburgh may accomplish if the membership makes the playoffs.
Steelers able to “make some noise” as a playoff group
“We’re chasing a Tremendous Bowl, and that’s what it’s,” Highsmith informed Albert Breer of Sports activities Illustrated. “We’ve an excellent group, and everybody on this locker room trusts one another. First, we acquired to win the division, after all. However we all know if we get in, we’ll make some noise. We simply acquired to proceed to belief the method and proceed to have a look at this movie and never get complacent, not get glad as a result of we all know there’s a variety of ball forward of us.”
The Steelers caught a little bit of a break with 2:43 remaining in regulation of Sunday’s matchup when it appeared that Ravens tight finish Isaiah Possible had secured a go-ahead landing reception. Nevertheless, the decision was overturned after replay review when it was decided that Possible did not full the motion of the catch earlier than he misplaced management of the soccer. Later within the quarter, Highsmith recorded a walk-off sack as time expired.
As of Monday morning, the ESPN Football Power Index gave the Steelers a 67.9 p.c probability to say the division title. To match, ESPN had Baltimore at 28.7 p.c odds to complete Week 18 atop the AFC North standings.
“We’ve nice leaders on our group, we now have nice leaders in our locker room,” Highsmith added. “So we acquired to go on the market and do the most effective we will for these guys. However the urgency is at an all-time excessive, and it begins subsequent week once we’re taking part in [the 6-7 Miami Dolphins] at house.”
On Monday, DraftKings Sportsbook had Pittsburgh as a three-point favourite for the Dec. 15 prime-time showdown versus Miami.
Alex Highsmith “grateful” for Mike Tomlin
Steelers gamers spent parts of final week listening to and studying about how members of the fan base and others throughout the NFL community thought that the membership and head coach Mike Tomlin ought to half methods on the finish of the season. Following Sunday’s win, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he hoped the end result would trigger such critics to “shut the hell up for every week.”
“I am grateful for the way calm he stayed all through the method, ups and downs,” Highsmith mentioned about Tomlin, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “He continues to return in and be the identical coach that he’s day in and day trip. …I really like taking part in for him. I really like taking part in for this group. We’re simply going to maintain combating and maintain stacking wins.”
If the Steelers maintain stacking wins, Tomlin will probably keep protected in his job by no less than the beginning of subsequent season.
