Former Pittsburg Steelers former linebacker Ryan Shazier was seen pumping the team in the huddle ahead of their game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Steelers led 24-6 at the end of quarter three. 

The 29-year-old was on the field for warmups at Heinz Field. He used the occasion to rally the troops by leading some cheers. 

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Shazier retired from football in 2020. However, he has been out of the game since suffering a severe back injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in December of 2017. The injury temporarily left him unable to walk, but he has since recovered.

Pittsburgh faced the Broncos, who were off to their best start since 2017. Their first three wins were against teams who are a combined 2-10. A dismal blowout loss to Baltimore at home last week — a game in which starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater left with a concussion — did little to silence their skeptics.

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A win in Pittsburgh, even against the current semi-disjointed version of the Steelers, would go a long way to showing Fangio is making progress in his fourth season.

“It’s not the loss this past Sunday that defines you as a football team, it’s how you respond to a loss that defines you as a good football team,” Denver defensive end Shelby Harris said.

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“Practice this week has to be more amped than it’s been in weeks prior, and then it can’t just stop there right. It has to carry over to a tough environment going into Pittsburgh and finding a way to win on Sunday.”

Bridgewater spent the week in the concussion protocol, meaning there’s a chance Drew Lock gets the start. Lock started in Pittsburgh during Denver’s visit in Week 2 last year before being knocked out with a shoulder injury in the first quarter of what became a 26-21 loss.

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Lock didn’t exactly thrive after going in for an injured Bridgewater against the Ravens. He completed just 12 of 21 passes for 113 yards with an interception, though Fangio made it a point to lay the blame on an entire offense that managed just 254 yards.

“I still think his below-average play was just a part of our whole offense that day,” Fangio said. “We just weren’t very good offensively last Sunday.”

The Steelers haven’t been good offensively all season. That needs to change and change quickly if they want the questions about whether Roethlisberger’s issues are fixable or not to stop.

With inputs from the Associated Press