Steelers coach Mike Tomlin leaving 'door ajar' for injured starters, including T.J. Watt, to play vs. Ravens

Three starters didn’t dress Sunday, and the Pittsburgh Steelers lost two others, plus their backup quarterback, to injury in a 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Coach Mike Tomlin said Monday he is leaving the “door ajar” for all six to suit up when the Steelers complete a short turnaround and play the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium.

“None of the six can be characterized as out,” Tomlin said at his weekly news conference at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “We’ll start with partial participation tomorrow and increase that and make decisions as the week goes on.”

That list includes outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who exited in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. The former NFL Defensive Player of the Year — and a candidate to win the honor again this season — Watt left after adding two sacks. That gave him 11.5 for the season, marking the sixth time he has reached double digits in his NFL career.

Tomlin listed Watt as questionable, but the coach was encouraged that he saw Watt “walking around comfortably” at the team facility Monday.

“Hopefully he recovers fast,” defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said. “But if he’s not able to go, I’d like to think we’re well-equipped to keep these guys right and go into the lion’s den with the Baltimore Ravens.”

The Steelers have played without outside linebackers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig for stretches of games this year. Watt has started all 14, but it was only last season that he missed the most important one of the year because of injury. After starting all 17 games, Watt sat out the playoff loss at Buffalo with a knee injury.

Tomlin scoffed when asked why Watt was still in the game when he was injured with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left and the Steelers trailing by two touchdowns.

“We play and play to win,” he said.

Watt became the fourth starter on defense to miss the game or exit early. Defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi and strong safety DeShon Elliott were out because of groin and hamstring injuries, respectively. Cornerback Donte Jackson played just 24 of 80 snaps before he left with a back injury. The Steelers also were without wide receiver George Pickens, who missed his second game with a hamstring injury. No. 2 quarterback Justin Fields didn’t return after he was hurt at the end of an 8-yard run on the only snap he played. Fields suffered an abdominal injury.

Given the importance of their game Saturday in Baltimore — the Steelers (10-4) can clinch the AFC North title with a victory against the Ravens (9-5) — Tomlin isn’t ruling out any player on the 53-man roster from participating.

“This is a big game,” Tomlin said. “We have an opportunity to solidify the division, so rest assured those that are healthy are going to play. We’re not going to look ahead to potentially what could happen on the other side of it. We have definitive, tangible things to pursue this week — a division championship — so I think that merits all hands on deck.”

The Steelers will face the Ravens with one fewer day of rest than in a typical game week. Then, they face the Kansas City Chiefs, the AFC’s top-seeded team, on Christmas in an even quicker turnaround.

Early in the season, Tomlin said he might take a more cautious approach with his returning injured players, but not in Week 15 and with the potential of securing a home playoff game at stake.

“At the beginning of the season, you have a big-picture mentality where you don’t want small problems to become big problems because of the totality of the games that lie ahead,” he said. “When you get to this portion and the sand is running through the hourglass, that’s not a component of decision making. That’s the mindset we’re in.”

With Pickens watching from the sidelines, the Steelers finished with 163 yards, including 128 passing. Russell Wilson completed 14 of 22 passes and one touchdown, but he was sacked twice while the offense struggled to gain traction without its best receiver.

Calvin Austin III caught five passes for 65 yards, but he was the only receiver with more than one reception.

“We’ve got to be sharper,” Wilson said. “We’ve just got to stay the course. Obviously, we’ve got a big week coming up. We’ve got to respond We’ve got to be ready to go. That’s where our focus has to be.”