With two regular-season games left, things are getting a little complicated for the Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs. The Buffalo Bills win on Sunday locked them into a playoff spot so going forward it is all about the Steelers holding off the Tennessee Titans for the No. 6 seed.
The easiest way for the Steelers to make the playoffs is to win out. Ok, maybe easiest isn’t the right word but surest way to do it is beat the New York Jets next week and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17.
The Jets are 5-9 this season but have a very stout defense which we will talk more about this week and hypothesize how this could be problematic for Pittsburgh. There’s a rumor the Ravens are going to rest their starters if they have the No. 1 seed locked up so there is some relief there. But at this point there is no trust in the offense being able to score on anyone.
Making it in with a loss is more complicated and wouldn’t play out until the final week. If the Steelers split their final two games, they can still make the playoffs if the Titans do as well, with one caveat. The Titans have to lose to the Houston Texans in Week 17 and not the New Orleans Saints next week. This preserves once of the tiebreakers where the Steelers have the edge.
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