The Pittsburgh Steelers now have one regular season game remaining and it’s at home late Sunday afternoon against the 6-9 Cincinnati Bengals. They’ll need to win that contest and get some help to make the playoffs as either a division winner or Wild Card team.
As mentioned in a previous post, the Steelers can clinch the AFC North title in Week 17 by beating the Bengals on Sunday combined with a loss or tie by the Baltimore Ravens in their Sunday home game against the Cleveland Browns. Strangely enough, the Steelers can tie the Bengals on Sunday and still win the AFC North division as long as the Browns beat the Ravens.
If however, the Ravens beat the Browns on Sunday the Steelers can still clinch a playoff spot as a Wild Card in Week 17 with a win against the Bengals on Sunday should the night game between the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans end in a tie.
It’s important to remind everyone that the Browns already beat the Ravens 12-9 earlier this season in Week 5. They even did so with Hue Jackson still their head coach and Todd Haley still their offensive coordinator. The Ravens, however, still had quarterback Joe Flacco as their starter and not rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is now 5-1 in his six starts since the Ravens lost to the Steelers in Week 9.
Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday during his press conference what he’ll tell his team this week with them now needing help to get into the playoffs.
“Really, we just focus on the things that are within our control and from that perspective, it’s no different than any other week,” Tomlin said. “We better handle business in our stadium. There’s things going on in other stadiums that could affect us, but there are things going on in other stadiums every weekend that could affect our positioning. We better focus on the task at hand, the things that are within our control, and that’s our preparation and play as we push into Heinz Field on Sunday. That will be the message.”
Below are all of the AFC 2018 NFL PLAYOFF SCENARIOS FOR WEEK 17
AFC
CLINCHED: Kansas City Chiefs – Playoff berth
Los Angeles Chargers – Playoff berth
New England Patriots – AFC East division title
Houston Texans – Playoff berth
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (11-4) (vs. Oakland (4-11), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Kansas City clinches AFC West division title and home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
- KC win OR
- KC tie + LAC loss or tie OR
- LAC loss + NE loss or tie + HOU loss or tie OR
- LAC loss + NE loss or tie + KC clinches at least a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over HOU
Kansas City clinches AFC West division title and a first-round bye with:
- LAC loss + NE loss or tie OR
- LAC loss + HOU loss or tie
- LAC loss + KC clinches at least a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over HOU
Kansas City clinches AFC West division title with:
- LAC loss OR
- KC tie + LAC tie
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (10-5) (vs. New York Jets (4-11), Sunday, 1:00 PM ET, CBS)
New England clinches home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
- NE win + KC loss + LAC loss
New England clinches a first-round bye with:
- NE win OR
- NE tie + HOU loss or tie OR
- BAL loss or tie + HOU loss + TEN loss or tie
HOUSTON TEXANS (10-5) (vs. Jacksonville (5-10), Sunday, 1:00 PM ET, CBS)
Houston clinches AFC South division title and home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
- HOU win + NE loss or tie + KC loss + LAC loss + HOU clinches a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over KC
Houston clinches AFC South division title and a first-round bye with:
- HOU win + NE loss or tie OR
- HOU win + KC loss + LAC loss + HOU clinches a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over KC OR
- HOU tie + NE loss OR
- IND-TEN tie + NE loss + BAL win + HOU clinches a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over BAL
Houston clinches AFC South division title with:
- HOU win or tie OR
- IND-TEN tie
BALTIMORE RAVENS (9-6) (vs. Cleveland (7-7-1), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Baltimore clinches AFC North division title and a first-round bye with:
- BAL win + NE loss + HOU loss + IND-TEN does not end in a tie OR
- BAL win + NE loss + HOU loss + BAL clinches at least a tie in strength of victory tiebreaker over HOU
Baltimore clinches AFC North division title with:
- BAL win OR
- PIT loss OR
- BAL tie + PIT tie
Baltimore clinches a playoff berth with:
- BAL tie + IND-TEN tie
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (11-4) (at Denver (6-9), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Los Angeles clinches AFC West division title and home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs with:
- LAC win + KC loss or tie OR
- LAC tie + KC loss
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (9-6) (at Tennessee (9-6), Sunday night, 8:20 PM ET, NBC)
Indianapolis clinches AFC South division title with:
- IND win + HOU loss
Indianapolis clinches a playoff berth with:
- IND win OR
- IND tie + PIT loss or tie OR
- IND tie + BAL loss
TENNESSEE TITANS (9-6) (vs. Indianapolis (9-6), Sunday night, 8:20 PM ET, NBC)
Tennessee clinches AFC South division title and first-round bye with:
- TEN win + HOU loss + NE loss + BAL loss or tie
Tennessee clinches AFC South division title with:
- TEN win + HOU loss
Tennessee clinches a playoff berth with:
- TEN win
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (8-6-1) (vs. Cincinnati (6-9), Sunday, 4:25 PM ET, CBS)
Pittsburgh clinches AFC North division title with:
- PIT win + BAL loss or tie OR
- PIT tie + BAL loss
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff berth with:
- PIT win + IND-TEN tie
