Jaguars Hammer Colts, Open Door for Steelers

The strangest drought in professional football reared its head again, and this time, the Steelers were set to benefit from it.

Once again, the Indianapolis Colts, who entered the day ahead of the Steelers in the wild-card race, found themselves completely unable to handle the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, going down to a 26-11 defeat in Sunday’s regular season finale and opening the door for Pittsburgh to steal the Colts’ playoff berth.

The Steelers entered the day needing a win over the Ravens and a loss by the Colts (9-8) against the Jaguars (3-14) to have any hope of getting into the postseason. The Colts came into the game as 15-point favorites, but Jacksonville scored on its first possession and dominated the game from there, never letting the Colts get comfortable. Trevor Lawrence closed his rookie year with two touchdowns and no interceptions, while the Colts lost two fumbles and Carson Wentz tossed an interception.

The loss was the Colts’ sixth straight at Jacksonville and seventh in a row as the visiting team against the Jaguars, as they fell to Jacksonville in London during this streak. The Colts have not won at TIAA Bank Field since 2014, despite the Jaguars’ struggles.

The Steelers (9-7-1) defeated the Ravens in overtime and will become the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoffs if the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders do not see their game end in a tie. If that game has a winner, the Steelers will advance to play the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in the wild-card round. If the Chargers and Raiders tie, the Steelers will be eliminated.