Steelers Improve Playoff Odds after Colts Loss

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally got some playoff help, and it came from the team that helped put them behind the eight ball in the AFC playoff picture.

The Indianapolis Colts, one week after drubbing the Steelers put to their postseason hopes on thin ice, opened the door right back up on Sunday with a 29-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

The Colts are now 8-7, tied with the Steelers, but the Colts have a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Steelers. NFL rules break ties within the division first, so the Colts are ahead of the Houston Texans, who lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, thanks to their head-to-head win over Houston.

The Steelers are ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals, thanks to their 2-0 record against them. But both Indianapolis and Houston have the head-to-head tiebreakers over Pittsburgh.

That leaves the Steelers as the No. 9 seed, third of the four clubs in the four-way tie at 8-7. The Steelers will likely need to win out and get some additional help in order to make the playoffs.

AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE

1 Baltimore Ravens 11-3
2 Miami Dolphins 10-4
3 Kansas City Chiefs 9-5
4 Jacksonville Jaguars 8-6
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5 Cleveland Browns 10-5
6 Buffalo Bills 9-6
7 Indianapolis Colts 8-7
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8 Houston Texans 8-7
9 Pittsburgh Steelers 8-7
10 Cincinnati Bengals 8-7
11 Denver Broncos 7-7
12 Las Vegas Raiders 6-8
13 Los Angeles Chargers 5-10
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14 Tennessee Titans 5-9
15 New York Jets 5-9
16 New England Patriots 3-11

The Steelers currently have an 8% chance to make the playoffs according to the New York Times playoff predictor. If they win their two remaining games, they have an 82% chance to make it to the postseason.

The Steelers can get additional help Sunday afternoon from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots.

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