The Pittsburgh Steelers could have locked up the AFC North by beating the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. Because they failed to do so, the fate of the division will remain in limbo until Week 18. Neither the Steelers nor the Ravens can win the AFC North in Week 17, regardless of the other team’s results.
The Ravens did secure a playoff berth by beating the Steelers, allowing for the distinct possibility of a rubber match. The Steelers have beaten the Ravens in the playoffs multiple times, but Baltimore has the last laugh. If that rematch does happen, we won’t know who hosts it for a while yet.
The Steelers host the Kansas City Chiefs in the early slot on Christmas, the Ravens visiting the Houston Texans later in the day. With both teams at 10-5, 1-1 head-to-head, and 3-2 in the division, they are at a standstill. Common games? 7-3 each. But the Ravens have one more conference loss; whether that matters, we won’t know until the end.
If the Steelers beat the Chiefs but lose to the Bengals, and the Ravens lose to the Texans but beat the Browns, the Ravens will win the AFC North. In doing so, they would have the better division record, which would be the first relevant tiebreaker. Conversely, if the Steelers’ one win is against the Browns and the Ravens’ the Texans, Pittsburgh wins the North.
If both the Steelers and Ravens either win or lose their division games, and the opposite in the non-divisional games, Pittsburgh holds the edge. We have already established all of this, but the point is, we simply have to wait now.
Nobody can deny that the Steelers have had their opportunities to take care of business, including yesterday. Russell Wilson’s two costly turnovers were backbreakers, accounting for massive scoring swings. But both AFC North contenders have lost games they could or should have won. After all, the Ravens lost to the Browns, too.
Because both the Steelers and Ravens have stumbled on their path toward the North crown, we won’t know who earns it for two more weeks. But we do know one thing: the Steelers control their path while the Ravens do not.
If the Steelers win out, they win the AFC North. If the Ravens win out, they need the Steelers to lose at least once. They could win the AFC North while losing one game if the Steelers also lose one, but it depends on which games they lose.
In other words, this is par for the course for the Steelers, except at least they know they have a playoff spot. Their ultimate fate almost always comes down to the final week. Only this time, it’s only to determine the winner of the AFC North. That’s a better problem to have, but it’s a problem they created by failing to do what was necessary.
