The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to the postseason, having clinched a playoff berth three weeks ago. Who they’re playing, and whether or not they’ll have a home game at Acrisure Stadium, remains to be seen.
The Steelers will host the Cincinnati Bengals for their Week 18 game next week, and depending on the results of that game and a few others, they can still finish as the third, fifth or sixth seed, and play four different opponents in the first round of the playoffs.
The three games that mean the most to the Steelers will be their game against the Bengals, the Cleveland Browns at the Baltimore Ravens, and the Los Angeles Chargers at the Las Vegas Raiders.
If the Steelers beat the Bengals, the only other game that will matter to them is the Browns and Raves. If the Steelers beat the Bengals and the Browns upset the Ravens, the Steelers will win the AFC North and host the Chargers in the first round. If the Ravens beat Cleveland, the Steelers will be the fifth seed and travel to face the Houston Texans in the first round.
If the Steelers lose to the Bengals, then it’s the Chargers-Raiders game that matters to Pittsburgh. A Pittsburgh loss and a Chargers loss once again sends the Steelers to Houston in the Wild Card round. But a Steelers loss and L.A. win moves Pittsburgh to the No. 6 seed, where they’d likely visit the Ravens.
The only way the Steelers can play a team other than the Chargers at home or the Ravens or Texans on the road in the first round is if the Buffalo Bills lose both of their final two games, against the New York Jets on Sunday and the New England Patriots next week, and then the Steelers lose and Ravens and Chargers both win next week. Then, the Steelers would go to Buffalo as the No. 6 seed.
Here’s the full breakdown of possibilities:
PIT win + BAL loss = No. 3 seed vs. LAC
PIT win + BAL win = No. 5 seed at HOU
PIT loss + LAC loss = No. 5 seed at HOU
PIT loss + LAC win + BAL loss = No. 6 seed at BAL
PIT loss + LAC win + BAL win + BUF 1-1 or 2-0 = No. 6 at BAL
PIT loss + LAC win + BAL win + BUF 0-2 = No. 6 seed at BUF
The Steelers beat the Los Angeles Chargers at Acrisure Stadium once already this season, a 20-10 win on Sept. 21. They split two games with the Ravens, winning 18-16 at home on Nov. 17, but losing 34-17 on Dec. 21 in Baltimore in a game that could have clinched the AFC North for Pittsburgh. That loss snapped a four-game Steelers winning streak against the Ravens. They have won eight of the last 10 games between the teams.
The Steelers did not play the Texans or Bills this season, but lost 31-17 to Buffalo in the Wild Card round last January and were soundly beaten, 30-6, by the Texans in Week 4 of last season.
STEELERS IN AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE
1. Kansas City Chiefs 15-1
2. Buffalo Bills 12-3
3. Baltimore Ravens 11-5
4. Houston Texans 9-7
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5. Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6
6. Los Angeles Chargers 10-6
7. Denver Broncos 9-7
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8. Cincinnati Bengals 8-8
9. Indianapolis Colts 7-8
10. Miami Dolphins 7-8
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11. New York Jets 4-11
12. Las Vegas Raiders 3-12
13. Cleveland Browns 3-12
14. Jacksonville Jaguars 3-12
15. Tennessee Titans 3-12
16. New England Patriots 3-13
AFC NORTH STANDINGS
| Overall | AFC North | AFC | Head-to-head | |
| Ravens | 11-5 | 3-2 | 7-4 | CIN 2-0, CLE 0-1, PIT 1-1 |
| Steelers | 10-6 | 3-2 | 7-4 | BAL 1-1, CIN 1-0, CLE 1-1 |
| Bengals | 8-8 | 2-3 | 5-6 | BAL 0-2, CLE 2-0, PIT 0-1 |
| Browns | 3-12 | 2-3 | 3-7 | BAL 1-0, CIN, 0-2, PIT 1-1 |
