In life-threatening situations, people who want to survive instinctively do whatever it takes to stay alive. The same rule applies in the NFL, especially when the season is hanging by a thread. For Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers, the mission in Week 18 was painfully simple: play hard, lean on one another, and beat the Baltimore Ravens at home to keep breathing.
That’s a challenge this franchise has faced—and conquered—many times before. But this version of the Steelers walked into Sunday’s must-win game with a glaring difference. Aaron Rodgers was without his primary target, DK Metcalf.