Steelers playoff update
Despite not playing on Sunday, the Steelers gained ground in the playoff race. The Steelers came into the week as the 5th seed in the AFC, and they’re still the 5th seed. However, their position has nevertheless been strengthened.
Going into the week, 4 teams were tied for the 6th playoff seed. The Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, and Cincinnati Bengals were all two games behind the Steelers in the wild-card race. But losses by the Titans, Raiders, and Bengals leave only the New York Jets as the 6th seed.
The Jets are still two games behind the Steelers, so barring a colossal collapse by the Steelers, they have little chance of catching the Black & Gold.
The Steelers will play the San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, and Cleveland Browns in their final 3 games. The Rams are tied for the 2nd worst record in the NFL, and the Browns are tied for the 3rd worst record. So neither team should give the Steelers much of a challenge.
The SF 49ers are tied with the Steelers at 10-3. However, the 49ers just lost to the Arizona Cardinals, a team the Steelers beat earlier this season. I don’t foresee the 49ers beating the Steelers, even though the game is being played in San Francisco.
If the Steelers win this weekend, then they’re extremely likely to end the season with a 13-3 record. The problem is that the Baltimore Ravens also have a good chance of ending the season at 13-3. And if the Steelers and Ravens end the season tied, the Ravens will claim the AFC North title due to their two wins over the Steelers.
Because of that, the Steelers need the Ravens to lose at least one more time this season. And a loss by the Ravens is a distinct possibility. After all, the Ravens have already lost to the 4-9 Jacksonville Jaguars, and the 5-7 Seattle Seahawks.
The Ravens have games remaining against the San Diego Chargers, the Cleveland Browns, and the Cincinnati Bengals. While the Browns aren’t likely to beat the Ravens, the Chargers or Bengals definitely have a possibility of doing so.
The Chargers just had a 37-10 win against the Buffalo Bills. While the Chargers have underachieved over the past few seasons, they’re still a talented team that is capable of beating anybody. I see them as having the best chance of beating the Ravens.
The Ravens face the Chargers this coming Sunday on Sunday Night Football. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Chargers are going to have just as many supporters in Pittsburgh as they have in San Diego.
Go Chargers!!!
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The big issue with the 49ers is whether Ben will play. I know Batch has a good record with Pittsburgh and should get some more snaps this week but the Steelers are now more of a passing team than ever so Batch would be more exposed than in previous games.
Also the Steelers run defense has lagged its passing defense this year. Against teams like the Ravens and 49ers that is more of a problem so this might not be the best matchup for us unless Ben can play under center.
1Actually, I thought this weekends games stunk as far as affecting Pittsburgh playoff positioning. Yes, the Titans, Raiders, and Bengals all lost…but who cares. None of them had a realistic chance of catching pittsburgh even if they had won. And, its not like there is a lot of difference between seed 5 and 6.
Meanwhile, while I expected Baltimore to dominate Indy, the Texans and Patriots unfortunately won very close games. The Texan-Bengal game really hurts. Now, the Texans could easily go 13-3 and the Bengals are continuing to flame out. By the time we reach the final week, they might not have anything to play for and could end up rolling over against the Ravens.
If Pittburgh wants to win the division, it looks like we really need to pin our hopes on this week – with a Charger win vs the Ravens and a Pitt win over the 49ers. If that happens, barring a major miricle, we win and become a 1 or 2 seed – and get needed rest.
I am also not that imprerssed with the 49ers. I do not, however, take them lightly given our key injuries and the fact its on the road.
2I think one of the most intriguing aspects of the playoffs is if we end up as the fifth seed and everything else works out the way it is looking right now, we could very well end up playing the Broncos in the playoffs… which would definitely be an interesting match-up!
3Who would we rather not face in the playoffs, Ravens or Patriots? I know we beat the Patriots this year but not the Ravens but in the post season the reverse has always been true.
4Definately the Patriots. Even if we won (which I think we would) against the Ravens, it would likely be close and we would be beat up after the game.
The Patriots, on the other hand, might come up with a twist so their offense performs better than it did last time – but they simply do not have a defense.
5I’m with John on that one. Ordinarily, I would have said the Ravens. But this year they’ve just proven to be too physical for us (yes, I hate to admit that). The Patriots, on the other hand, seem to be a better match-up for us.
6@Steve,
7I’d LOVE to play the Broncos. I don’t buy into all of the Tim Tebow hype. I think the Broncos would be the easiest team for the Steelers to beat.