It has been a brutal five days for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as injuries and continued poor offensive play are threatening to jeopardize their once promising postseason prospects. Those same troubles are at full force in the team's Thursday Night Football game against the New England Patriots.

Key linebacker Alex Highsmith sustained a neck injury and is out for the remainder of the contest, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. He went into the blue tent to be further evaluated before heading back to the locker room and was initially ruled questionable to return. The Steelers are already down 21-10 at halftime, and the absence of Highsmith makes a comeback even more improbable.

The 26-year-old has six sacks, two forced fumbles and 49 combined tackles in 2023, grading especially well as a pass-rusher, per Pro Football Focus. The defense is the driving force for this team, with him being a vital part of the unit. However, one would would think that the Steelers do not need to be at full strength to combat this Bailey Zappe-led offense.

The former fourth-round pick is 11-of-17 passing for 168 yards and three touchdowns. That's right, the young quarterback has nearly equaled his five career scores in just one night. Elite edge rusher TJ Watt is banged-up himself and starting QB Kenny Pickett could be sidelined for up to four weeks after undergoing ankle surgery.

Simply put, the Steelers (7-5) are deeply vulnerable. They presently sit in fifth place in the AFC standings, but the Patriots (2-10) figure to be the only so-called “easy” game on their schedule the rest of the way. Ideally, Alex Highsmith will be able to line up for that critical final stretch of the season.