Thursday night’s game had playoff implications for the Pittsburgh Steelers—or at least, potential implications. The victor of the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos determined what the Steelers’ floor was for their playoff seeding, should they fail to secure the AFC North.
And because the Chargers won, that means the Steelers could still wind up as the lowest seed. In fact, with three games to go, they can still finish anywhere between the first and seventh seeds. Had the Broncos beaten the Chargers, the Steelers would have only been able to fall as low as sixth.
The Steelers are 10-4 entering Week 15, while the Chargers were 8-6. Had they lost and fallen to 8-7, that would have meant they couldn’t possibly finish with a better record. And because Pittsburgh beat the Chargers earlier this year, it had the head-to-head tiebreaker. Even if the Steelers, Chargers, and Broncos all finish 10-7, Pittsburgh would win. The Chargers and Broncos would settle an in-division tiebreaker first, and the Steelers have a head-to-head advantage over both.
Of course, if the Steelers beat the Ravens tomorrow, the lowest they could possibly finish is fourth. A Pittsburgh win this week would mean winning the AFC North division and hosting a playoff game. Even then, the Steelers could still place anywhere between first and fourth.
In order to lock up the top seed, however, the Steelers would need the Chiefs to lose out, including on Christmas Day in Pittsburgh, while winning out themselves. They would also need the Bills to lose one of their final three games, and they have an easy schedule. Obviously, they would only need one of those two things to happen to land in the second seed.
Both of those scenarios playing out are unlikely, of course. In the event that the Steelers beat the Ravens, it’s also unlikely they would place fourth. The 9-5 Texans still have to play the Chiefs and Ravens, so they could easily finish 10-7. That is the worst the Steelers could possibly finish, and of course, if we’re talking about division-winner seeding, the Steelers likely have to be at least 11-6.
If the Steelers were to lose out but the Texans only win one more game against the Ravens, then the Texans would be the third seed, the Steelers fourth, and the Ravens a Wild Card (provided they went 0-2 after beating the Steelers, resulting in all three finishing 10-7).
Currently, the Ravens are in position for the top Wild Card spot at 9-5. With the Chargers beating the Broncos, they are now both 9-6, Los Angeles owning the tiebreaker. They have already played each other twice, so both could either win out or lose out. Because of that, the Steelers, should they advance as a Wild Card, could still fall anywhere between fifth and seventh.
Notably, the Steelers are the only team in the AFC with a full range of outcomes available, minus not advancing. The Chiefs, Bills, and Texans have already secured their division titles. The AFC North is the only one that remains up for grabs, but that can change tomorrow.
