There’s a lot of unpack, so let’s get right at it. The Pittsburgh Steelers lost on Sunday to the New York Jets 16-10. This dropped the Steelers record to 8-7 and for now, has pushed them out of the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. That spot is now occupied by the Tennessee Titans who also lost this week.
What has to happen going forward? First and foremost the Steelers have to find a way to beat the Baltimore Ravens next week on the road. If this doesn’t happen the rest doesn’t matter. The good news is the Ravens locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC today with a win over the Cleveland Browns. This means there’s a real chance they will rest the bulk of their starters including quarterback Lamar Jackson.
The next thing that must happen is the Titans have to lose to the Houston Texans in the regular-season finale. Houston still has playoff seeding to play for and could find themselves the No. 3 seed if they can beat the Titans and the Chiefs lose to the Chicago Bears. Will this give them something to play for?
It’s unfortunate the Steelers lost to the Jets this week but the season isn’t over. But realistically, even if the Steelers should somehow have everything fall into place, this team is so limited on offense it might not matter.