The Pittsburgh Steelers are in must-win mode this week, as their hopes of making it to the playoffs largely depend on the outcome of their Week 17 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field. Although the Steelers are the decisive favorites to win that game against the struggling Bengals, Pittsburgh will be in a better position to get the job done if running back James Conner will be on the field – healthy.

In a significant update, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that there are high odds that the second-year tailback will be on the field and ready to go this coming Sunday, via Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.

#Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told reporters today on RB James Conner: “We’ll be watching him close and seeing if he’s going to be a positive contributor to our efforts this week.“ At the least, my understanding is that he has a realistic chance of playing.

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Conner has missed each of the Steelers’ last three games after suffering an ankle injury late in Week 13’s home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Pittsburgh needs a win or a tie in Week 17 and a win or tie by the Baltimore Ravens against the Cleveland Browns to get into the playoffs as the AFC North titlist. The Steelers can also win a playoff berth with a win over the Bengals and a tie between the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans.

If Conner gets ultimately ruled out for the Bengals game, Jaylen Samuels is likely to be Pittsburgh’s No. 1 option in the ground attack in the regular-season finale.