Following the Houston Texans’ Week 17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Pittsburgh Steelers are out of contention for the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
The Texans’ 20-16 victory over the Chargers gives Houston a key advantage over Pittsburgh in the AFC playoff race.
Even if Houston loses in Week 18 and Pittsburgh wins out, both teams would finish with an 11-6 record and a 9-3 conference record. The tiebreaker procedures would then move to common opponents, which favors the Texans.
Both the Steelers and the Texans have faced off against the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, and Seattle Seahawks this season — but Houston went 5-1 in those matchups, while Pittsburgh went 2-3.
The Steelers’ only shot to earn the No. 3 seed was if both the Texans and the Jaguars lost out, resulting in Pittsburgh holding the conference record tiebreaker over Jacksonville.
The Steelers will have no choice but to settle for the No. 4 seed if they clinch a playoff spot, set to host the top wild-card team in the AFC — which would be the Buffalo Bills if the season ended today.
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