The Pittsburgh Steelers loss Thursday night to the Baltimore Ravens was a big one. While it certainly hurt their chances of making the playoffs, they are still not completely out of the picture. They will, however, need some help and that help needs to begin on Sunday.
First off, it would probably be wise to hope the Cincinnati Bengals beat the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. The Chargers, along with the Ravens, are the two teams that I believe are the biggest threat to land the final AFC Wild Card spot. Keep in mind that the Chargers still have the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs remaining on their schedule and it wouldn’t hurt for them to lose at least two of their remaining games.
As far as the Tennessee Titans go, the Steelers need them to lose to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and the Denver Broncos the following week. Remember the Titans own tie breakers over the Steelers, so they must lose one more game as a result.
I don’t consider the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins as teams worth worrying about. Why? The Steelers already hold tie breakers over the Jets and that will also be the case with the Dolphins, assuming the Steelers beat them next week.
As for the Ravens, they still have the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots and the Bengals left on their schedule. We need to root for at least two more loses.
Needless to say, it would be helpful if the Steelers run the table and that means beating both the Bengals and the Green Bay Packers. Sure, they can still get in with an 8-8 record, but the only loss they can suffer would be to the Packers and they will be doing a lot of scoreboard watching during Week 17 more than likely if they do, as it could come down to them needing the Ravens to lose to the Bengals.
Running the table from here on out should do the trick, still, but a loss to the Dolphins, Bengals or Browns, will surely do them in.
