To rest starters or to not rest starters? That is the question for playoff-bound teams as we head toward Week 18. Teams already locked into playoff seeding have an easier decision on whether to rest their key players, but the Pittsburgh Steelers' situation is not as simple.
Pittsburgh (10-6) clinched a playoff berth weeks ago, but the AFC North remains in a tight race. The Steelers are currently second in their division and would be the No. 5 seed if the season ended today, but, of course, the season does not end today and there's a lot on the line in the final week of play.
Pittsburgh will host the Cincinnati Bengals, who are still in the playoff mix, on Saturday night. If the Steelers win and the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Cleveland Browns earlier that day, Pittsburgh would be crowned divisional champs. That would put the Steelers and Ravens at the same record (11-6) to end the year, but Pittsburgh would own the tiebreaker in that scenario.
The Ravens play before the Steelers on Saturday, so head coach Mike Tomlin will already know if the divisional title is a possibility when his players hit the field. Pittsburgh does already have a guaranteed ticket to the postseason, so it could rest its starters to ensure players are healthy going into the next phase of the season, especially if they know the division is already decided.
When asked if he would rest the starters if Baltimore wins, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said that isn't on his mind right now.
"I haven't pondered that at all. ...I doubt I'll be in that mentality," Tomlin said Monday.
The head coach, who's had winning seasons in each of the last 18 years, says it's unlikely that he will be sitting players. He noted that it's crucial his team plays well and goes into the playoffs with momentum.
If the Steelers do win the NFC North, they would host the Los Angeles Chargers on Super Wild Card Weekend. If the Steelers and Ravens both win, the Steelers take the No. 5 seed in the AFC and would head to Houston to face the No. 4 Texans.
If the Steelers lose and the Chargers win, L.A. would take the No. 5 seed and Pittsburgh would go to No. 6. If Pittsburgh is the No. 6 seed, they would play the Ravens in the first round.
