Though Pittsburgh is part of the AFC North, all eyes will be on the AFC East Sunday afternoon. Now knowing the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans’ Saturday night game didn’t end in a tie (though it was looking promising for a hot minute), the Steelers will need help from the East to get into the playoffs. Either the Tennessee Titans beating (or tying) the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Miami Dolphins beating the Buffalo Bills. One of those scenarios must happen.
The old phrase is “any given Sunday” but entering the day, the odds look stacked against Pittsburgh. The Jaguars are likely to get back QB Trevor Lawrence after missing last weekend with a shoulder injury. How effective he’ll be is unclear with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport notes Lawrence is expected to suit up. That report came Saturday afternoon.
Official word will come in around 11:30 AM/EST when the Jaguars list their inactives. C.J. Beathard is currently the team’s No. 2 option should Lawrence not play or get hurt in-game. If the Jaguars win, they win the AFC East and will host a Wild Card team in the first round of the play0ffs.
If the Jaguars handle their business, the Steelers’ season will come down to the night game, needing the Dolphins to beat the Bills. Not only is Buffalo the hottest team in football, 4-0 over the last month with wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, but the Dolphins won’t be playing with a full deck. Per NFLN’s Tom Pelissero, the team is expected to be without RB Raheem Mostert and WR Jaylen Waddle, two of their biggest playmakers. Despite both being questionable, neither are expected to play.
At one point, Mostert had as many offensive touchdowns as the entire Steelers’ unit. And Waddle is a speed threat opposite Tyreek Hill. In addition to missing those two, the team will also be without DE Bradley Chubb due to a torn ACL suffered in garbage time of last week’s blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens while CB Xavien Howard won’t play due to a foot injury.
The Dolphins have secured a playoff spot but they would become the No. 6 seed in a loss to the Bills. Buffalo is still fighting for their playoff lives with an outcome that can range from the No. 2 seed to missing the playoffs entirely.
While it’d be disappointing to see the Steelers next get the help they need, their ugly three-game losing streak to start December prevented them from controlling their own destiny. Now, they’ll rely on scoreboard watching to see if there’s more games to play.
