PITTSBURGH — The Steelers’ 2019 playoff chances took a significant hit on Sunday with the team’s 17-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Heinz Field.
A victory would have all but assured the team a return a to the postseason. With the loss, the Steelers are still in the hunt, but they’ll have significant work to do over the final two games of the 2019 season.
The Steelers do still control their own destiny. Wins at the New York Jets next Sunday and at the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 will clinch a playoff berth.
At 5-9, the Jets should not represent a significant hurdle and the 12-2 Ravens could already have a first-round bye wrapped up by then.
Even if the Steelers should falter, they can get it with fairly minimal help. A Week 17 Houston Texans win over the Tennessee Titans combined with a 1-1 Pittsburgh finish would also secure a playoff berth.
That means the Steelers need to quickly move past their loss and get back to the work of improving on the practice field.
“This isn’t the end of the world for us with the playoffs,” guard Ramon Foster said. “We’ve got to be a team that’s learning from this. … There’s a lot of stuff we’re going to have to clean up from this past game I’m sure we’re going to see moving forward from other teams, especially offensively with what they threw at us defensively. It’s not over. We’re still in this.”
The one thing the loss has certainly done is shorten the team’s amount of leeway going forward. There can’t be many more slip-ups if the Steelers hope to play postseason football.
“We can’t let up at New York this coming week,” safety Terrell Edmunds said. “Gotta go get that win and then from there, we’ve just got to keep on fighting. Keep on fighting.”
