The Steelers fly to Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, and whether Ben Roethlisberger's name is on the passenger's list remains the subject of much intrigue.
A final call on Roethlisberger, who's trying to get cleared from the NFL Reserve/COVID-19 List, might not be made until the league's deadline for this weekend's games at 4 p.m. Minkah Fitzpatrick, who tested positive for the virus on Monday, is in the same race against time ahead of Sunday's game against the Chargers.
Meanwhile, the Steelers (5-3-1) will be without edge rusher T.J. Watt (knee/hip), cornerback Joe Haden (foot) and guard Kevin Dotson (ankle).
In more encouraging injury news, receiver Chase Claypool (toe) who, like Roethlisberger, missed the Steelers' 16-16 tie with the Lions, was a full practice participant on Friday.
Now, the question is which quarterback will be throwing passes to Claypool in Los Angeles?
Roethlisberger, who tested positive on Saturday, has spent the week away from the facility going over the game plan via Zoom calls with quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan. Roethlisberger and Fitzpatrick require two consecutive negative tests in a 24-hour period to rejoin their teammates. Coach Mike Tomlin cast doubt on Fitzpatrick's availability earlier in the week.
If Roethlisberger can't play, Mason Rudolph will make a second straight start. Rudolph had an uneven performance against Lions, completing 30 of 50 passes for 252 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He was victimized by Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth fumbles in overtime, but had plenty of his own issues. He completed only one of three passes that carried 20 yards or more, and failed on three throws from the Lions' 5 in the third quarter.
Both Najee Harris and Kendrick Green, who spoke to the media Friday, said they have been in contact with Roethlisberger. Green said Roethlisberger was feeling better, but didn't know what that meant in terms of his availability for Sunday.
"Mason knows his stuff just like Ben knows his stuff," Green said. "We’re all comfortable with Mason."
Watt's absence is obviously significant as well as the Steelers prepare to face Justin Herbert, one of the league's top young quarterbacks. The edge rusher ranks second in the NFL with 12.5 sacks. He will miss just his fourth game since joining the club in 2017. The Steelers lost the previous three, including a 24-10 setback to the Bengals at Heinz Field in September.
The margin for error is slight following an embarrassing result against the winless Lions.
A year after three AFC North teams qualified for postseason, only the division winner is guaranteed a tournament seed in a jumbled and chaotic conference race. The surging Patriots (7-4) are pushing the Bills (6-3) in the East, while the Chiefs (6-4) have returned to form in a tightly compacted West. Twelve teams, fighting for seven playoff spots, are 5-5 or better as Thanksgiving approaches.
This is the landscape the Steelers must navigate as they begin a difficult eight-game run to the finish that has them facing only one opponent (Vikings) with a losing record. Five of the games are on the road, starting Sunday night against the Chargers (5-4).
“We don't worry about the Joneses,” Tomlin said on Tuesday. “We take care of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s a big game because we're in it. And I say that every week, and I mean it. As long as you’re taking care of your in-stadium business, very rarely do you have to really look around and wonder what's going on around you.”
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Harris made it clear Friday he welcomes the challenge to run the ball in the red zone even if defenses are crowding the box. He was asked how the club could be more successful down near the goal line.
"To improve in the red zone?" Harris said rhetorically. “Just run the ball, I guess. I guess that’d fix a lot of things."
While Harris rushed for 105 yards on 26 carries against Detroit, he did not get one touch on the first-and-goal from the Detroit 5. The Steelers settled for a pair of short Chris Boswell field goals (23 and 20 yards) in the game.
Harris was asked whether he lobbies coaches for more carries in the red zone.
“It’s not my decision at the end of the day,” he said. “But I’ll say a little bit of stuff like, ‘Hey, even if they stack the box, we can at least chop down two or three yards, then it can be a shorter second or third down.’ But at the end of the day, it’s not my decision.”
• The running back has been targeted in the passing game a combined 10 times in the past three games after being targeted a whopping 38 times in the previous four games. What's changed? Harris said not to read too much into the disparity as he's almost never the first or second option on a pass play.
“I get check downs. I’m the last read,” he said. “That’s a good thing. They are not throwing it to the check down (because) maybe they are airing it out.”
Harris, who has 44 catches for 317 yards and two receiving TDs, said he's always ready to contribute in the passing game.
• Green made no excuses for a rough afternoon against the Lions in which several of his shotgun snaps were high and one sailed past Rudolph.
"There's no excuse for it, honestly," the rookie said. "Can't have it."
Green added that the change in quarterbacks played no factor in the errant snaps. "It's all me," he said.
THE INJURY REPORT
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Chase Claypool, Trai Turner and Cam Heyward should see action this weekend after being full participants Friday while Joe Haden, Kevin Dotson, T.J. Watt and Isaiahh Loudermilk were all downgraded to out.
