The Steelers’ playoff odds got a sharp boost with their win over the Seattle Seahawks. With the win, even without help from around the league, the Steelers boosted their odds to 20 percent according to the New York Times tracker. They need just one of two things to happen if they can win against the Ravens. The Buffalo Bills must lose to the Miami Dolphins or the Jacksonville Jaguars must lose to the Tennessee Titans. There is also the roundabout tie between the Texans and Colts.
Pittsburgh can still obtain the sixth or seventh seed through those means. If they lose, there is a scenario where they can make it as well. If they get into a tie with two AFC South teams, which will be one of the Colts or Texans plus the Jaguars, the Broncos must defeat the Raiders to move to 9-8 and solidify a four-team tie, giving Pittsburgh the tiebreaker via conference record. Those are their two paths.
The Jaguars, even with backup C.J. Beathard, feasted on an undermanned Panthers team playing without kicker Eddy Pineiro. Pineiro suffered a hamstring injury in pre-game warmups, and the Panthers did not move the ball well all game. Jacksonville’s defense pushed a shutout in a dominant 26-0 win. That dealt a sharp blow to the Steelers’ playoff hopes.
The Colts had some more theatrics going on, but held firm throughout the game. After leading 14-3 at the half, a Davante Adams touchdown pushed the Raiders within four points. They pulled out a close win after driving late into their territory, but they held strong, winning 23-20 on the day.
The Bills nearly let the Patriots come back into the game to help the Steelers’ playoff hopes, but instead, they closed late, winning a nail-biter 27-21 to stay in the sixth seed and play for a division title after the Ravens thrashed the Dolphins. Pittsburgh now must get some help next week to make it.
AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE
1 Baltimore Ravens 13-3
2 Miami Dolphins 11-5
3 Kansas City Chiefs 10-6
4 Jacksonville Jaguars 9-7
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5 Cleveland Browns 11-5
6 Buffalo Bills 10-6
7 Indianapolis Colts 9-7
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8 Houston Texans 9-7
9 Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
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10 Cincinnati Bengals 8-8
11 Denver Broncos 8-8
12 Las Vegas Raiders 7-8
13 New York Jets 6-10
14 Tennessee Titans 5-11
15 Los Angeles Chargers 5-11
16 New England Patriots 4-12