It’s “only” Week 15, but regular season games don’t get much bigger than Monday night’s Pittsburgh-San Francisco showdown.
At stake is control of a playoff bye in each team’s respective conference. The game feels especially huge for the Steelers.
With only the Rams and Browns up next on the docket, it’s very hard to imagine the Steelers losing after Monday night’s game. Beat the 10-3 49ers, and the Steelers should have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
(The Steelers beat the Patriots, so they have the tiebreak over them.)
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that Ben Roethlisberger is a “true gametime decision” despite other reports that suggested Big Ben was sure to play.
We don’t doubt Schefter’s report, but we also can’t imagine Roethlisberger sitting out because this game means so much. Beating the 49ers would essentially be like winning a playoff game and advancing to the Divisional Round.
Instead of possibly playing three road games to get to the Super Bowl, the Steelers could host two games to get to Indianapolis.
The game is almost as big for the 49ers, who are trying to cling to the No. 2 seed in the NFC ahead of New Orleans. Falling to the three seed and potentially traveling to the Superdome in the playoffs is a nightmare scenario for a power football team.
There are legitimate questions about how ready for primetime this 49ers squad truly is. Frank Gore is slowing down. San Francisco’s offensive line has struggled badly with blitzes against the Ravens and Cardinals’ 3-4 defenses. They are coming off their worst game of the year.
Now the 49ers have to face perhaps the best 3-4 team in the league, with everyone watching.
Tebow-Brady was good for ratings, but this game means a lot more.