Chiefs vs. Steelers inactives: Week 17 injury report for Christmas Day [Updated]

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to spend Christmas Day with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium for a holiday matinee. Although it's fun for the fans to enjoy football during the holidays, the quick turnaround from Week 16 to 17 does neither team any favors.

Pittsburgh and Kansas City played on Dec. 21 (not against each other) and are preparing to do so merely four days later. The NFL is putting them in a tough spot, especially with the playoffs looming. Nevertheless, the Chiefs and Steelers have so much at stake, making this a battle of attrition.

Kansas City clinches the No. 1 seed in the AFC by winning one of their final two games. Securing a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason sooner than later is the best Christmas gift Chiefs Kingdom can ask for.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are fighting with the Baltimore Ravens to maintain their spot atop the AFC North. The highly competitive divisional race will presumably come down to the wire, making the magnitude of this matchup even more tremendous.

Yet, with so much on the line, Pittsburgh and Kansas City will be without some key contributors. If their respective injury reports tell us anything, the short time between contests is detrimental to both clubs.

Steelers inactives: Week 17 injury report for Christmas Day

Standout second-year cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is out due to a knee injury he suffered in Pittsburgh's Week 16 loss to the Ravens. He reportedly feels pain "elsewhere [too] — including his calf," per ESPN's Brooke Pryor.

Ben Skowronek was ostensibly a focal point of the Steelers passing attack against Baltimore while George Pickens was sidelined. He caught two passes for 25 yards but exited in the second quarter with a hip ailment. The veteran wide receiver won't be available, though fortunately, the latter is making his highly anticipated from a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

Backup quarterback Justin Fields won't suit up for Pittsburgh because of an abdominal issue. Nonetheless, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport notes that he'll likely serve as the emergency third signal-caller.

While it might not seem like it, the fact that Preston Smith and Dean Lowry are inactive for this game is actually a great sign for the Steelers. The two veterans in the front seven not playing is an indication that the defense is getting some reinforcements back in the fold and should be healthy down the stretch and into the playoffs. Given that the defense is still the calling card in Pittsburgh, things are looking up for the strength and health of that group at the most crucial point of the year.

Chiefs inactives: Week 17 injury report for Christmas Day

All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones isn't expected to take the field for the Chiefs-Steelers clash. He tweaked his calf in Kansas City's Week 16 victory over the Houston Texans. On a quest to accomplish the league's first-ever three-peat, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions are erring cautiously with their stud pass rusher.

Chiefs franchise passer Patrick Mahomes' group of blockers up front will be compromised and shorthanded on the edges. Offensive tackle D.J. Humphries is out with a hamstring malady, and bookend Jawaan Taylor is banged up after hurting his knee versus the Texans. But Kansas City had to feel at least a bit better about Taylor as he was not put on the inactives list for this matchup.

It continues to be baffling how little the Chiefs have used Josh Uche since acquiring him from the Patriots at the trade deadline but he's inactive once again for this game. That will be something that we should all be watching curiously in the final week of the regular season and definitely in the playoffs when he could conceivably play some role for Steve Spagnuolo's defense.