The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their Week 14 game Sunday afternoon on the road against the Oakland Raiders. As for the rest of the NFL weekend schedule, there are a few games that should interest Steelers fans, so below is your rooting interest guide for the remaining games in addition to the AFC seeding picture entering Sunday’s contests.
Ravens (7-5) at Chiefs (10-2): 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS
Depending on how optimistic of a person you are might ultimately decide who you might want to root for in this Sunday afternoon game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. If you truly believe that the Steelers can win their final four games and that the Chiefs can and will lose three of their last four with their first defeat coming Sunday against the Ravens, then perhaps you should cheer on the Ravens in this contest. After all, the Ravens can’t win the AFC North division if the Steelers win out. The Chiefs, on the other hand, enter Week 14 as the No. 1 seed in the AFC and it will be interesting to watch their high-power offense go against a very good Ravens defense on Sunday. The Chiefs final three games are against the Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Raiders so there is a tiny chance that they lose three of their next four. For those that are less optimistic about the Steelers final four games, you’ll probably want to cheer on the Chiefs on Sunday against the Ravens and likely the Chargers two weeks from now when they play host to Baltimore. The Ravens will once again start rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson Sunday and on the road and the first-round draft pick has yet to lose.
Patriots (9-3) at Dolphins (6-6): 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS
The New England Patriots can clinch the AFC East division on Sunday with a win or a tie against the Miami Dolphins, who enter week 14 as the No. 8 seed in the AFC. The Dolphins obviously will likely need to win their final four games to make the playoffs this year. The Patriots look destined to be the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the AFC entering Week 14 so if you want the Steelers to have a chance at overtaking them, you better hope that the Dolphins pull an upset at home on Sunday. The Patriots easily beat the Dolphins at home 38-7 back in Week 4 and they’re 8-point road favorites over Miami as of Saturday. The Patriots, by the way, will play the Steelers in Pittsburgh next Sunday.
Colts (6-6) at Texans (9-3): 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS
Sunday’s game between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts is somewhat like the Week 14 game between the Patriots and the Dolphins. The Texans, however, can’t clinch the AFC South division title this week thanks to the Tennessee Titans winning Thursday night. The Texans, however, like the Chiefs and Patriots, are currently ahead of the Steelers in the AFC seeding entering Week 14 so at some point the Steelers will need Houston to lose at least one game if they are to overtake them. The Colts, on the other hand, enter Sunday as the No. 9 seed in the AFC and thus they’ll probably need to win out in order to make the playoffs. Go ahead and cheer on the Colts in this game as there will be plenty of time to cheer against them in the final three weeks of the regular season should the need arise.
Bengals (5-7) at Chargers (9-3): 4:05 p.m. ET, CBS
If you’d like to see the Los Angeles Chargers slip up and not make the playoffs this season you better start rooting for them to lose a few games. After hosting the lowly Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14 the Chargers will close out their 2018 regular season with games against the Chiefs, Ravens and Denver Broncos. Those two games against the Chiefs and Ravens are certainly losable, so if the Chargers slip up and somehow lose to the Bengals at home on Sunday, just maybe a team like the Colts can ultimately beat them out for a Wild Card spot. Sure, it’s never fun to pull for the Bengals, but this week I don’t see an issue with it. By the way, there is no longer a scenario in which the Chargers can clinch a playoff spot in Week with the Titans winning Thursday night.
