Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Headlines Great News For Pittsburgh's Injury Report In Week 13

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a laundry list of injuries after their Week 12 loss, and that included two players being ruled out quickly. That included key starters being out, with many more potential injuries. Of course, the one that everyone was paying attention to the most was Aaron Rodgers, who wanted to play in the previous week despite having a fractured wrist. That gave a lot of people confidence that he would suit up for Week 13, whether he was still hurting or not. All eyes were on him during the practice week.

After Friday's practice, Head Coach Mike Tomlin confirmed what had been rumored for a while now: Rodgers is set to play in the Steelers' critical Week 13 contest. 

There was no question that the Steelers did not have a lot of faith in backup quarterback Mason Rudolph, and the play calls showed it. Outside of one pass in the red zone, nearly all of his completions were checkdowns and screens. Despite him playing well overall, Tomlin and his coaching staff clearly wanted Rodgers in, and that is now what they are getting.

The main concern with Rodgers is how healed up his wrist truly is. The plan was to rush him into the game in the previous week, and that didn't work. These kinds of injuries could land people on Injured Reserve (IR), but both the quarterback and his coaches are adamant on having him call out the signals on Sunday. A bad hit could make that injury much worse than it already is, however.

Between that and the Buffalo Bills' struggles with the run defense, it would make a lot of sense that the Steelers pound the rock throughout the game. Rodgers has the ability to audible out if needed, but the big key here is to make sure that wrist is protected. Hand the ball off a lot against a very weak run defense and don't put the quarterback in trouble. That should be the offensive gameplan this week.

Steelers' Other Great Injury Notes

Not only will Rodgers play, but Tomlin confirmed that both Alex Highsmith and DK Metcalf will be on the field in Week 13 against the Bills. Two other key starters are also a full go. 

The passing attack has had issues over the last month, and losing Metcalf would have made things so much worse. Even though he has not had a great season statistically, he is still the most talented wide receiver that the Steelers have. Losing him most likely would have made the offense even more one-dimensional than it is expected to be at this point. Even against a struggling defense, it's hard to run the ball with eight men in the box. 

Meanwhile, Highsmith is a great run stopper on the outside, and the Bills have thrived on their rushing attack offensively. With everyone running to his side of the line every week, the Steelers will be relying on him to keep this attack under wraps to slow down the offense, especially since Buffalo bill be missing both of its offensive tackles in this contest. He should get plenty of opportunities to feast on Sunday.

NFL insider Tom Pelissero later confirmed that top cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is active as well. Having him play press coverage will help the Steelers' pass rushers take advantage of the Bills' backup offensive tackles and get to the quarterback more often. 

What do you think about Rodgers, Metcalf, and Highsmith all being healthy and ready to go for this critical Week 13 game? Will it be enough to win? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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