George Pickens puts all the pressure on the Steelers to let him play on Christmas

The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Kansas City Chiefs at 1 PM on Christmas Day, which is the perfect holiday treat for sports fans the world over. It's hard to imagine a better or more anticipated matchup. The Chiefs are the Super Bowl favorites, the late-game magicians. The Steelers are the scrappy, unsexy contenders who just find ways to get the job done.

Please list me five coaches better than Andy Reid and Mike Tomlin. It's not possible. This is a clash of styles, as well as AFC heavyweights, as the Chiefs' explosive offense runs headlong into a stout Steelers defense. The Chiefs are 14-1 despite myriad complications and an ungodly number of close, one-score margins of victory. Pittsburgh is 10-5, and 6-3 since Russell Wilson took over at QB. After his, um, controversial stint in Denver, Wilson has reclaimed his public image and proven that he can still lead a winner.

What does hang over this matchup, however, is injuries. There isn't a single team operating at full health this late in the campaign, and the Steelers' biggest question mark entering Week 17 is George Pickens. The third-year wideout has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury.

He was, however, listed as a limited participant on the injury report for Sunday's practice, sparking optimism that Pickens might return for the Wednesday's holiday affair.

Pickens does not want to get his hopes up, but he made his desires abundantly clear with reporters.

George Pickens wants to play in Steelers-Chiefs on Christmas, but it's not up to him

Pickens "feels good" and wants to play, but the team has not officially cleared him. Doctors will need to give the thumbs up before Pittsburgh can officially reinstate their WR1. It doesn't help that this game is coming on such a short week, as Pittsburgh will only get three days off between Saturday's loss to Baltimore and Wednesday's showdown with the first-place Chiefs. If this game were taking place on Sunday, for example, the odds would skew more heavily in Pickens' favor.

Tomlin said Pickens is among the group of injured players with a "real chance" to suit up on Christmas. At least there is optimism mounting in the building. So much of injury recovery is psychological. If Pickens is comfortable and confident on his hamstring, that's half the battle. The Steelers just need the medical okay.

Pittsburgh has the stuff to beat this deeply flawed and almost always backpedalling Chiefs team, but it's much harder without Pickens. He is the most explosive playmaker in Arthur Smith's arsenal. His chemistry with Russell Wilson has grown week over week, and there's a good chance for Pickens to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for a second straight season if he can get back in time.

Let's see if the 23-year-old can get the all-clear, or if Wilson is left throwing to a patchwork WR room in yet another high-stakes, primetime showdown.