It all comes down to this.
The Pittsburgh Steelers welcome the Baltimore Ravens to Acrisure Stadium this week in the final regular-season game of the season and the winner takes the AFC North championship. Few rivalries in the NFL compare to this one and this is why the league chose to make it Sunday Night Football and get as many eyes as they can on the biggest game of the weekend.
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Here are the storylines to watch this week.
How much will T.J. Watt play?
Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin indicated on Thursday that edge defender T.J. Watt will play this week. Watt has missed the last three games after suffering a collapsed lung. Watt has underperformed this season but you cannot devalue what his presence will mean for the team but we look for him to be on a strict snap count.
The return of Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson said on Thursday he is playing on Sunday after missing time with a back injury. In one sense, this could be a plus for the Steelers if it means slightly less Derrick Henry. Pittsburgh has a good handle on keeping Jackson off balance so his return might be something the team can take advantage of.
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Where will the Steelers offense come from?
Last week the Steelers offense looked completely lost without wide receiver DK Metcalf in the lineup. Hopefully this was a lesson is better prepared this week to generate some points without Metcalf. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked particularly lost and this was no better illustrated than by him forcing the football to wide receiver Marquez Valdez-Scantling on the team's final three plays.
Will a loss bring significant changes in Pittsburgh?
We have always stood by the idea that the Steelers organization isn't going to jump to any conclusions when it comes to head coach Mike Tomlin or his coordinators but if the Steelers lose on Sunday and miss the playoffs, it will heat up Tomlin's seat in the offseason, at least publicly.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers vs Ravens: 4 big storylines to watch this week

5 days ago
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