With their 48-32 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers have become the first No. 7 seed in NFL history to win a playoff game. The No. 7 seed was first instituted in 2020 with the NFL expanding the playoff field. The Packers-Cowboys was the seventh such matchup between a No. 7 seed and No. 2 seed, and one of those games involved the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lost 42-21 to the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2021. Obviously, the Steelers would’ve had a chance to become the first No. 7 to do so had it not been for their game being pushed back from 1:00 p.m. today to 4:30 tomorrow due to weather in Buffalo.
The Steelers are the AFC’s No. 7 seed, and they’ll have a chance to become the second No. 7 seed to win a playoff game if they can pull off the upset against the Buffalo Bills tomorrow. Like Green Bay, Pittsburgh won their final three games of the regular season and entered the playoffs hot. Buffalo is also coming in off a winning streak though, as they won five straight games to close out the regular season and win the AFC East.
The Steelers will have their hands full against Buffalo, especially without T.J. Watt, but they’ll look to replicate Green Bay’s game plan and win the game by forcing turnovers and winning on the ground. The Packers ran for 143 yards and picked off two Dak Prescott passes, including a pick-six by safety Darnell Savage. Jordan Love also made some big-time throws, finishing with 272 yards and three touchdowns without any turnovers. With the win, the Packers will take on the NFC’s No. 1 seed in the San Francisco 49ers next weekend.
For the Steelers to win tomorrow, they’re going to need to force some turnovers and bad throws from QB Josh Allen, who has 18 interceptions this season. They’re also going to need to control the clock and get a good performance out of their running backs, especially Najee Harris, who has ran for over 100 yards in his last two games. They lost their shot at NFL history with the game being moved, but no one’s going to be worried about that if they’re able to pull off the upset tomorrow.
While Pittsburgh might not win in the dominating fashion that the Packers did (the game wasn’t as close as the score suggested), it’s a game that the Steelers can win. They’re confident heading into the game, citing past playoff experience from that game against Kansas City, and the weather could turn things into a mucky game. That should benefit the Steelers, but the extra day with the game being rescheduled means weather will be less of a factor.
We’ll see if the Steelers can join the Packers and knock off the No. 2 seed in what would be an unprecedented event in Wild Card Weekend. The Steelers became the first No. 6 seed to win the Super Bowl back in 2005, and maybe they can repeat history as the first No. 7 seed to accomplish the same fate. But it’s going to take a win over the Bills first, and the Steelers will need to lock in and play their best football of the season to make it happen.
