By Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers knew they’d be in the playoffs. But it took until the final games of the NFL’s regular season game to fill in all the details.
With the Buffalo Bills beating the Miami Dolphins 21-14 Sunday night, the Steelers’ Wild Card schedule is officially known. Pittsburgh will travel to Buffalo and take on the Bills Sunday afternoon at 1 PM/EST. The game will be shown on CBS, avoiding the Peacock exclusive Saturday night slot the Steelers would’ve played in had the Dolphins emerged victorious.
The Steelers wind up as the seven seed, meaning they’ll face the two seed Bills in the Wild Card round. It’s Pittsburgh’s first trip back to the playoffs since 2021, searching for their first postseason victory since 2016. They’ve lost their last three playoff appearances, blown out by the Chiefs in 2021 and upset at home 2017 and 2020.
Here are the official playoff seedings.
Pittsburgh clinched a playoff spot earlier in the day when the Tennessee Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-20, eliminating the Jags and solidifying the seven teams who would make up the AFC playoff field.
Dropping to 7-7 in mid-December, the Steelers’ playoff odds fell to roughly 10 percent following their loss to the Indianapolis Colts. But Pittsburgh defied the odds and won their final three games, having little margin for error. Heading into the weekend, their best path to the postseason involved beating the Baltimore Ravens and having the Jaguars or Bills lose. Pittsburgh took care of business against Baltimore’s backups, winning 17-10, and got the help they needed Sunday.
Buffalo ended their regular season on an even more impressive streak, winning their final five games. They haven’t lost since November 26, an OT loss that also dropped them to .500, 6-6 at the time. From there, they won out.
Pittsburgh and Buffalo met in the regular season last year, a blowout Bills’ victory 38-3. Leading 31-3 at the break, QB Josh Allen threw for 424 yards and four touchdowns, including a 98-yard TD to WR Gabe Davis (who got hurt in tonight’s game). That was QB Kenny Pickett’s first start. This time around, Mason Rudolph is expected to serve as Pittsburgh’s starter.
Sunday’s weather conditions are supposed to be blustery, temps below freezing with winds over 20 miles per hour. It could lends itself to a ground attack-based game, which should bode well for Pittsburgh.
