The Steelers placed kicker Chris Boswell on injured reserve on Friday, ending a season he no doubt is ready to put behind him. Rookie Matt McCrane, who was undrafted out of Kansas State, was signed to replace Boswell.

McCrane has played for the Cardinals and Raiders this season and while he was 8 for 8 on extra points he was just 5 of 9 on field-goal attempts. In college, McCrane converted 86 percent his field-goal attempts.

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Several weeks ago, after Boswell missed two field goals in the Steelers' three-point loss to the Raiders, the team had McCrane and Kai Forbath in for a tryout. Pittsburgh stuck with Boswell, who played better against the Patriots and Saints (3 of 4 on field-goal attempts, 4 of 4 on extra points). Forbath has since signed with the Jaguars, leaving McCrane. 

In the offseason, the Steelers signed Boswell to a well-earned four-year, $16.8 million extension. A Pro Bowler a season ago, Boswell joined Pittsburgh in 2015 and converted 89.5 percent of his kicks from 2015-2017. Through 15 games in 2018, he was just 13 of 20 on field goal attempts (65 percent) -- including 5 of 10 from 40-49 yards -- and missed five extra points too.

But instead of jettisoning Boswell after the Raiders game, the Steelers opted to get him some help in the form of former Pittsburgh kicker Shaun Suisham, who played for the team from 2010-2014 and converted 87.9 percent of his field-goal attempts and never missed an extra point in five years (though it's worth pointing out that extra points went from 20-yard attempts to 33-yard attempts in 2015). 

Now McCrane could be needed to help get the Steelers into the playoffs. They're two-touchdown favorites to beat the Bengals on Sunday but this team has a knack for playing down to its competition. And should the Browns find a way to beat the Ravens, Pittsburgh's postseason hopes could rely on the leg of a just-signed kicker who has barely made half his attempts this season.