The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into the final quarter of the 2025 NFL season. Even though there are now 17 games, roughly 4 games make up a quarter of the season. Now that each NFL team has had their bye week, every team is an action over the final four weeks. While there have been teams who have been eliminated from the postseason, there has yet to be any team to clench a playoff birth. For this reason, the final four weeks are extremely important.

Looking at the Pittsburgh Steelers, they have a one game lead in the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens with the head-to-head tiebreaker with one final matchup to go in Week 18. The Steelers are also up three games on the Cincinnati Bengals and have split the season series 1–1 with the next tiebreaker of division record and common opponents still to be determined. The Steelers are completely in control of their own destiny at this point, but so are the Baltimore Ravens if they manage to win their games, especially against the Steelers. So Pittsburgh is in a good place, but there’s still a lot that could change.

Winning the AFC North would give Steelers fans something they haven’t had in eight seasons… a home playoff game in front of a full stadium. The last time the Steelers hosted a playoff game was during the 2020 Covid year when there were only a few thousand fans in the stands. Before that, the last home playoff game came at the end of the 2017 season. So even though the Steelers have gone a long time without winning a playoff game, they have gone almost just as long without hosting a playoff game in front of Steelers Nation.

I had to bring this up first because it is very important. As a season ticket holder myself, I’ve been holding out from going to the Steelers final home game each season as I was waiting for a playoff matchup. It simply hasn’t happened. This would be a very significant step for the Steelers.

But winning a division like the AFC North, who has seen its struggles with every team this season, might not be the greatest of an accomplishment. If the Steelers managed to make the playoffs and host a game, is it simply checking a box of being good enough but not being a realistic threat to make any noise?

This might be where the Pittsburgh Steelers are right now, but it doesn’t mean they need to stay this way. This is why the final four games of the season aren’t just about winning the AFC North, but playing better football and being a team on the rise at the right time of the year.

Unfortunately, Steelers fans don’t have much confidence in this regard because recent seasons have seen collapses from mid-December through January more than a team hitting their stride. Last season the Steelers had a Week 14 win against an AFC North opponent only to drop their final four games. After taking down the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14 in 2025, what do these final four games hold this season?

While winning just a single game over that stretch would be an improvement from last year, it’s not likely to get the job done in 2025. Even if the Baltimore Ravens continue to lose games and the Steelers only need one victory over the last four games to win the AFC North, would it really matter?

The Steelers still have plenty of things they can improve on over the last quarter of the season. Both running the football and stopping the run has been a struggle lately, but it’s nothing that a quality game or two couldn’t turn around. The Steelers also turned around their passing game last week which could help carry them through the final quarter of the season.

The bottom line is the Steelers are entering the most important quarter of the 2025 NFL season. The previous 13 games for all NFL teams has done nothing more than merely put them in a position to potentially make the postseason or win their division. The Steelers are no different. When it comes to teams that are going to be true contenders, these last four games will shape things so much more than the previous 13.

In all honesty, I don’t know what to expect from the Steelers in the final four games. If they lock up the AFC North and do so in decisive fashion where Week 18 doesn’t even matter, I’ll feel much better about things going forward. If the Steelers just scraped by just pulling out a win or two and basically finding a way to win the division without even potentially having a winning record, it’s not going to help them much come mid-January.

Right now, there is not a large opportunity for the Steelers to find themselves as anything other than the fourth seed by winning the AFC North. Yes, they can mathematically move up, but the likelihood isn’t very strong. So it’s not even about winning the division and improving their seeding.

Yes, the Steelers need to find a way to win football games over the last quarter of this season. Even better, the Steelers need to be playing quality football in order two be a formidable opponent come the postseason tournament. This is what the final four games of the season are really about.