Despite having once been 3-6 this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers playoff scenarios are very much in play heading into Sunday Night Football. With four wins in their past five and five in their past seven, the Steelers have kept themselves in the playoff picture heading into the final two weeks of the season. Let’s examine the scenarios that need to play out and the Steelers’ playoff chances ahead of their Sunday Night Football game.
11:15 PM ET Update: The Steelers defeated the Ravens 16-13 on Sunday Night Football. Keep reading to see what that means for them in Week 18.
Steelers Playoff Scenarios To Watch For in Week 17
Entering Sunday of Week 17, the Steelers only had one result that could eliminate them from the playoffs. With the New England Patriots defeating the Miami Dolphins, the Steelers have a chance to keep their hopes alive with a prime-time victory over their division rivals.
The Steelers’ playoff scenario is reliant on others, but the simple part is that they need to win both of their final two games to give themselves a chance. However, they do not have a playoff tiebreaker over any of the three AFC East teams that are still in contention. The Steelers lost to both the Patriots and Dolphins earlier in the season, so both have that advantage.
Therefore, the Steelers have to finish at least half a game ahead of all of those two teams. That means that if the Steelers tie one and win one game, they could still be the seventh seed at 8-8-1. If the Steelers win, they need all of the following to happen to make the playoffs:
- The Miami Dolphins fail to win in Week 18.
- The New England Patriots fail to win in Week 18.
If the Steelers win one and tie one of their remaining games, the same scenarios as above apply, but instead of failing to win, the Steelers would need all of those teams to lose.
What Are the Steelers’ Playoff Chances?
With the 1 p.m. ET games in the books in Week 17, FiveThirtyEight gives the Steelers a 4% chance of making the playoffs. However, the outcome of the Jets’ game with the Seattle Seahawks had an impact.
With the Jets’ loss, then the Steelers’ chances climb to 7% before they kick off. A win for the Steelers in Week 17 would then take their chances up to 16%, with a tie taking it to 15%.