There’s never a good time for an NFL team to be dealing with a flu bug. Preparing for the AFC Championship game, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going through it at the absolute worst time. But coach Mike Tomlin insists that the team will be ready to go on Sunday.
“I’m just thankful that I’ve stayed out of the line of fire,” Tomlin said, per Jeremy Fowler, ESPN. “We’re not making excuses. There won’t be. We’ll be there, we’ll be ready to play, this is just part of normal things that happen over the course of a season.”
Fowler cited receiver Cobi Hamilton saying that as many as 15 Pittsburgh players have “suffered a setback.”
Ladarius Green missed practice on Thursday, while four Steelers had to sit out on Wednesday.
On the positive end, the sickness that’s plagued so many of Pittsburgh’s players was described as “24-hour flu bug.” So while it’s unfortunately been inflicted upon many players, it hasn’t lingered.
This news is coming on the heels of Antonio Brown posting Mike Tomlin’s post-game speech after the team’s divisional round win over the Kansas City Chiefs, which you can read about here.
The news for the Steelers leading up to the AFC Championship Game has generally been negative. The good news is that a win on Sunday will change all of that.