With three straight losses, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a dubious position in regard to their playoff hopes. Just three weeks ago, prior to the losing streak, their chances at making the postseason were at 79.2 percent. They have now fallen all the way to three percent following Week 15, per New York Times and Upshots’ playoff simulator.
At this point, the Steelers do not control their own destiny and need help to get in. Their remaining three games are against the Cincinnati Bengals, Seattle Seahawks, and Baltimore Ravens. The Bengals are hot behind the efforts of QB Jake Browning, who has come along nicely since being inserted into the lineup following Joe Burrow’s season-ending injury. The Seahawks are still fighting for a chance to be a wild-card team. With a tough matchup on Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles to wrap up Week 15, they could be eliminated and have nothing to play for by the time they face the Steelers in Week 17. As for the Ravens, they have the inside track to the first seed in the AFC and might have it locked up by the time they play the Steelers in Week 18.
If there is anything going for the Steelers right now, it is that two of their remaining three opponents may have nothing to play for in the final two weeks. That being said, the Steelers themselves could be eliminated from contention prior to the final week of the season. That has not happened since 2012. That year, the Steelers started 6-3 before dropping five of their last seven games to miss the playoffs. They were eliminated from contention heading into Week 17 and played in a meaningless game against the Cleveland Browns to secure an 8-8 non-losing season.
The way things are trending, the Steelers could find themselves in meaningless games their final two weeks. With a loss to the Bengals on Saturday, and a couple of the other wild-card hopefuls winning, the Steelers’ playoff chances will be less than one percent. They almost always have at least some vague scenario that is possible to get them into the playoffs the final week. The Steelers play at 4:05 PM/ET in Week 17 and depending on the results of the early games, could be eliminated from playoff contention prior to kickoff against the Seahawks. That would be not one, but two meaningless games to finish the season. If the Steelers were unable to rise to the occasion with playoffs on the line, it will be interesting to see what kind of performance they put out on the field if already eliminated.
