Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he is “more optimistic than I have been in recent weeks” about LB T.J. Watt (lung) playing in Week 18.

That’s not to necessarily Watt has a good chance given the reporting we’ve already had that he’s a long shot, and the qualifier “in recent weeks” is holding up the optimism. We think Watt has a chance to play, but he’ll probably have to start practicing in full by Thursday for Tomlin to confidently plug him in for the AFC North championship on Sunday night.