The Pittsburgh Steelers not only lost their AFC North divisional lead to the Baltimore Ravens today, but they endured a worst-case Week 12 that saw them fall out of the playoff picture altogether. Now at 6-5, the Steelers are in a three-way tiebreaker for the eighth seed in the AFC, one spot outside of the playoffs if they started next week.
They had a chance to retain their Wild Card spot with a Jacksonville Jaguars loss in the late-afternoon slate today, but they pulled off an overtime win against the Arizona Cardinals to move to 7-4.
There is some good news and some bad news when it comes to the Steelers’ positioning for the playoffs.
Let’s start with the good. For one, they remain very much in play for the AFC North title. They still play the Baltimore Ravens twice, which gives them an opportunity to make up any lost ground between now and then. They are tied with the Ravens in overall record, but the Ravens are 2-0 in the division to the Steelers’ 2-0.
Pittsburgh also has conference record working in its favor. Including today’s loss to the Chicago Bears, three of Pittsburgh’s losses have come to NFC teams. That could come in handy at the end of the season in tiebreaker scenarios where conference record weighs heavily.
Now for the bad news. The Wild Card race is very crowded at the moment. The Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, and Jacksonville Jaguars are all 7-4 and there are now four teams, including the Steelers and Ravens, at 6-5. Seven teams will be fighting for three Wild Card spots.
The Steelers only have head-to-head games against three of those teams, including Baltimore. Meaning, the Steelers have limited opportunities to make up ground on teams that are currently ahead of them in the standings. And they already lost to the Chargers.
Next week’s home game against the Bills looms large. If the Steelers lose, they will be firmly behind the eight ball in any Wild Card race, especially if it comes down to tiebreakers at the end of the regular season.