Pittsburgh Steelers: Final injury report ahead of TNF showdown with Tennessee Titans

The Pittsburgh Steelers are readying for an important AFC showdown with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football in Week 9.

Both squads are coming off pivotal showdowns, as the Steelers fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars, while the Titans defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8. It was the Will Levis show of the Titans, and he’ll be ready to rock in his second career start against Pittsburgh.

Will his play be enough for the rookie quarterback to get a win against the Steelers? We’ll see, but here’s who’s in and who’s out for Pittsburgh as they ready for Thursday Night Football at Acrisure Stadium.

Pittsburgh Steelers — Injury report ahead of Week 9:

QB Kenny Pickett (Rib) – Full
CB Damontae Kazee (Hand) – Full
RB Anthony McFarland Jr. (Knee) – Full
CB Levi Wallace (Foot) – Limited
CB Minkah Fitzpatrick (Hamstring) – DNP
DL Cameron Heyward (Groin) – Full

Steelers WR George Pickens says it’s easier to play on short weeks

While some believe the short-week is a disadvantage to teams, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens actually thinks they’re easier to play.

Pickens explained that the quick turnaround helps him, making it less of a challenge.

“It actually makes it a little better that you go right back at it,” George Pickens said. “It’s quicker. It’s not really a challenge, to be honest.”

One thing that will likely help the Steelers about the short week is that they’re coming off a tough loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The hope is that needing to quickly focus on Tennessee should help move on from that loss quickly.

At the same time, Pittsburgh would probably like a longer week to try and get healthy. That’s not an issue for George Pickens right now, but it is for starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, who was knocked out of the game against Jacksonville with a rib injury. 

Pickett plans on playing against Tennessee, but the extra time of a regular week would have been huge for him.

“It’s frustrating, it’s part of the game though. I’ve been doing it for a little bit. It is what it is. You’ve just got to be available, and get ready to go on Thursday night,” Pickett said. “I’m playing, for sure.”

Even at this point in the season, this is a huge game for the Steelers. Pittsburgh is in a three-way tie for second place in the AFC North, trying to stay above .500 in early November.

On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this article.