The Pittsburgh Steelers can wrap up a first-round playoff bye if they win their final two games of the the regular season, and it may be imperative for them to do that if they want to give their best wide receiver a chance to fully recover.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Antonio Brown is not expected to be ready to play during wild-card weekend. Brown obviously needs the extra week of rest for his partially torn calf muscle to heal, though the Steelers have not given an actual timeline of how long he is expected to be out.
Brown was injured in the first quarter of Pittsburgh’s loss to the New England Patriots last weekend, and Mike Tomlin said this week that the six-time Pro Bowler is dealing with a “significant contusion.” Brown provided a vague update about the injury on Twitter earlier this week, but it’s still unclear how long Brown will be out.
With a road game against the Houston Texans and a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals to close out the season, the Steelers should be able to secure a first-round bye. But if they can’t move past their heartbreaking loss to New England, they could end up putting themselves in a very tough situation.
