To the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers, welcome to the postseason.
Pittsburgh got the help they needed Sunday afternoon, not even needing to wait until the Sunday Night game between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins to determine their playoff fate. The Tennessee Titans were the team that put Pittsburgh through to the postseason, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday afternoon, 28-20.
With that, the Steelers got the help they needed and will advance to Wild Card weekend. As of right now, the Steelers seed nor opponent has been determined. Here are the scenarios:
– If Bills lose to Dolphins, Steelers become the sixth seed. They’ll travel to Kansas City next weekend.
– If Bills beat the Dolphins, Steelers are the seventh seed. They’ll travel to Buffalo next weekend.
– If Bills and Dolphins tie, Steelers are the seventh seed. They’ll travel to Miami next weekend.
The NFL will announce the playoff schedule shortly after the Bills-Dolphins game ends late Sunday night.
The last six weeks of Pittsburgh’s season have been an adventure. They entered December at 7-4, seemingly in control of their destiny and still challenging the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC North crown. An ugly three-game losing skid changed that outlook, back-to-back losses to the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots followed by a blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts. At one point, their playoff odds sat around 10 percent.
Turning to QB Mason Rudolph in Week 16, Pittsburgh won their final three games of the year. They blew out the Cincinnati Bengals 34-11 in their most complete game of the year and then travelled out west to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 30-23. They finished off the season with a gritty 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, finishing the season 10-7. They went an AFC North-best 5-1 in the division.
It marks the first time Pittsburgh’s been in the playoffs since the 2021 season, bounced by the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round. The Steelers have lost their last three postseason contests, including 2017 and 2020 upset losses against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh is searching for its first playoff win since 2016, beating the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs before falling to the New England Patriots in the AFC Title Game.
The Steelers are in the second-longest playoff drought in franchise history. From their founding in 1933, it took until 1972 – the Immaculate Reception – for them to win a postseason contest. Since, Pittsburgh has never gone as long as their current six-season streak without a playoff win. They’ll look to avoid making it seven-straight next weekend.
