Looking ahead to the session …
• What: Steelers practice
• When: 10:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• Where: Rooney Sports Complex
• Media availability: 12:30-1:15 p.m.
1:05: The Steelers completed their practices for the week and will have the next two days off before returning to work on Monday.
Most of the guys I have spoken to this week have said they'll at least keep an eye on what's going on in the other games this weekend.
Tennessee will be at Kansas City Saturday afternoon and then Jacksonville will host Buffalo Sunday on the AFC side of the bracket.
But they watch the games in different ways. Or, at least, they try to.
David DeCastro said he tries not to get too in depth and just tries to enjoy the game itself. That doesn't always work.
"I try to enjoy it like a fan, but I wind up watching the guards to see how they're playing," he admitted to DKPittsburghSports.
Joe Haden said he does the same thing with the cornerbacks. But he also tries to guess what plays the offense is going to run.
"I scout games without even knowing it," Haden said. "You look at down and distances and try to anticipate what they’re going to run. When I’m watching a game, I’m thinking, ‘OK, do they run to the sticks? Do they go short.’ I realize that I’m breaking down the game as I’m watching.
"(I'm) making mental notes of it. I’m just trying to watch the game as if I was playing it. That makes the game a lot more interesting. It’s second-and-short, what are they going to do? What are their tendencies. It’s more relaxed."
The Steelers won't know who their opponent will be Jan. 14 until after the Jacksonville-Buffalo game. They will play the highest-remaining seed, meaning the only team they can't face from this weekend's games is the Bills.
1:00: I talked to JuJu Smith-Schuster today. He told me his 96-yard kick return for a score last week was the first of his career -- at any level.
He got the team's special teams stick for his efforts.
11:16: If you haven't read the Patriots piece on ESPN, you should give it a look. Be warned, though, it did take me about 15 minutes to get through it all.
So much for the Steelers being team turmoil. The Patriots, it seems, have plenty of their own.
THE SETUP
Reminder: We can’t report what we see in NFL practices, per league guidelines. So we’ll always just use this space for any allowable updates, as well as a quick repository for news after the practice and media availability.
It's Friday, so this will be the Steelers' last day before a full free weekend off that they earned with the bye. I'll put any immediate news of note here on this live file, then I’ll have full coverage later.