The Pittsburgh Steelers may not currently be among the six teams in the projected AFC playoff picture. However, they are the first team that is on the outside looking in and are in need of a victory over the Baltimore Ravens to keep their hopes alive of earning a playoff birth, which Jaylen Samuels will need to play a key role in doing.
It will certainly help the Steelers' chances of victory considerably that Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram II, Marshal Yanda, Earl Thomas III, and Brandon Williams will be resting for this game. However, Pittsburgh will still need to execute because plenty there is still plenty of talent on the Ravens that will require strong execution to defeat them.
One player that would be wise for the Steelers to involve more offensively is Jaylen Samuels. This is especially when considering the fact that Pittsburgh will be without James Conner. He has already been ruled out for Sunday's game after previously being unsure if he would be able to play.
The impact of not having Conner should not be understated. He has racked up an impressive 715 total yards from scrimmage along with 7 total touchdowns despite taking part in just 10 games. Not having his impact hurts primarily in their rushing attack, but the effects will be felt in the receiving game if Samuels can't step up.
The best area for the Steelers to involve Samuels would be through the passing game. However, with Conner sidelined, getting Samuels some carries will be necessary, regardless. Samuels has truly struggled on the ground this season as he has averaged just 2.7 yards per attempt on 66 carries totaling just 175 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
It is worth noting that Samuels has been effective as a receiving threat this season. He has been targeted 55 times this season and that has resulted in 46 receptions, 289 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown. The fact that he is averaging 6.3 yards per catch is telling in terms of the impact he can have as a receiver out of the backfield.
Managing to get a dynamic receiving performance from Samuels could go a long way for a team that has mightily struggled to execute in this area. The Steelers have failed to total 300 yards passing and have yet to record three passing touchdowns in any of their games this season. Not only that, but they have also failed to exceed 200 passing yards since they had 231 against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 10.
Despite recording only four starts in 13 appearances, Jaylen Samuels has totaled the fourth-most receiving yards on the Steelers entering Week 17. The team doesn't have any of their wide receivers on their injury report, so they will have all of their regular weapons. However, getting an extra boost out of the backfield would open things up for everyone else.
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