As TJ Watt told the media after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, he simply twisted his ankle and x-rays came back negative. That’s probably a best-case scenario considering how close the calendar is to the playoffs, but still not ideal for giving the team’s best player the benefit of the doubt for important upcoming games.

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Watt should be good for the playoffs and possibly part of the remaining regular season schedule.

“He’s considering he suffered a lower ankle sprain, much less significant and much less severe (than Patrick Mahomes),” Rapoport said on Good Morning Football on Monday. “He has the Ravens on Saturday, so a slightly shorter week, and then he also plays on Christmas. So we’ll see if TJ Watt can be out there. I would say that these two guys’ injuries are not long-term. So probably at least good for the playoffs.”

Since he lumped Mahomes and Watt together in the same sentences, his “probably good” for the playoffs leans more toward Mahomes. Watt should be more than fine in the first round of the playoffs in a few weeks. He has a slim chance of playing this Saturday against the Ravens. If it were a playoff game, I’m pretty sure he would come through the injury.

The Steelers have been pretty conservative with injuries this season, so we can probably expect something similar here with at least missing the Ravens game. The problem is, if he fails against the Ravens, it will be difficult to play against the Kansas City Chiefs four days later.

It wouldn’t be shocking if he sat out the next two games due to the tight schedule and then returned in the regular season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals. Alex Highsmith recently suffered a lower ankle injury and missed three games, but things looked worse from the start.

Mike Tomlin was scheduled to provide an update on Watt today during his weekly press conference in this shortened week ahead of a critical Ravens game that could decide the AFC North crown. If the Steelers win, they win the division.

As for Patrick Mahomes, who the Steelers play in just nine days on Christmas, it appears that he is somewhat of a doubt for the upcoming games but should have a good chance of returning to the playoffs.