Steelers hold onto playoff spot with win over Browns

Pittsburgh’s miraculous season continues.

Win and you are in. This must be the mantra of the Pittsburgh Steelers going forward. The Steelers four games left to play and there is no margin for error when it comes to the AFC playoffs. But after the team’s 20-13 win over the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers still hold onto the No. 6 seed in the AFC.

Here are the current AFC playoff standings.

1-Baltimore Ravens (10-2)

2-New England Patriots (10-2)

3-Kansas City Chiefs (8-4)

4-Houston Texans (8-4)

5-Buffalo Bills (9-3)

6-Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)

On the outside looking in.

Tennessee (7-5), Oakland (6-6), Indianapolis (6-6)

It’s fairly remarkable that the Steelers are in the playoff conversation after a 1-4 start. The remaining schedule for Pittsburgh is brutal with the Ravens and Bills with Baltimore as the regular-season finale on the road.

If the Steelers go 2-2 which is highly likely they will need help behind them. We will do a full breakdown of the other three teams in the mix to see if it is realistic for the Steelers to hold onto their playoff position.

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AFC playoff picture: How Colts’ loss to Titans impacts standings

A look at the AFC playoff picture entering Week 14.

The Indianapolis Colts (6-6) crumbled late to the Tennessee Titans (7-5) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in a 31-17 loss that could have very well knocked them out of the playoff race with four games remaining.

The Big Picture

Now two games behind the Houston Texans (8-4), who also hold the tiebreaker, the Colts fell hard in the playoff race. They are now in third place in the division and the ninth seed in the AFC.

In the bunch with the wild-card contenders, the Colts don’t hold any tiebreakers with the teams ahead of them. The Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 6) and Oakland Raiders (No. 8) both hold the head to head tiebreakers while the Titans (No. 7) have the better conference record.

Suffice it to say, the Colts are going to need a lot of magic to get into the playoffs with just four games remaining.

This Week’s Talking Point

The Colts are on the road visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14 for a matchup that will involve playing against Bruce Arians. With their playoff hopes dwindling down, it will be interesting to see if the Colts begin looking toward the future or if they will put everything they have into the thrusters for the remaining four games.

Having lost four of their last five games, the Colts went from a potential contender to a virtually hopeless team looking toward the future in a matter of a month.

We’ll Also Discuss

With so many injuries befalling the Colts at several areas of the roster, will some moves be made placing players on the injured reserve? Also, what are some of the areas the Colts need to address in order to better shore up the depth on the offensive and defensive side of the ball?

AFC Playoff Picture

1. Baltimore Ravens (10-2)
2. New England Patriots (10-2)
3. Houston Texans (8-4)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4)
5. Buffalo Bills (9-3)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
In the hunt
7. Tennessee Titans (7-5)
8. Oakland Raiders (6-6)
9. Indianapolis Colts (6-6)
10. Cleveland Browns (5-7)

Updated Steelers season predictions with 5 games to go

How will the Steelers finish the season?

Time is running for the Pittsburgh Steelers to save their season and even though they have a spot in the playoffs right now at 6-5, their final stretch of five games is not easy. If the Steelers win two more takes it is hard to see them sneak into the playoffs given all the tiebreakers.

Here’s how the Steelers final five games breakdown:

vs Cleveland Browns

@ Arizona Cardinals

vs Buffalo Bills

@ New York Jets

@ Baltimore Ravens

Can the Steelers finish 4-1? Here is our updated season prediction.

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POLL: Will the Steelers make the playoffs this season?

Vote for if you think the Steelers will make the playoffs.

It’s time once again to read the room and figure out what state of mind the Pittsburgh Steelers fanbase is in. The Steelers are sitting at 6-5 and in control of the No. 6 seed in the AFC as of now. But the Cleveland Browns are nipping at their heels and come to town this weekend. Pittsburgh also has upcoming games against the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. With them on the slate, there’s no margin for error this week.

But given all the problems the Steelers are having on offense, will they make the playoffs when it’s all said and done?

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Cast your vote and let us know if you think the Steelers are a playoff team as of now?

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Jags playoff changes now down to 1%, per FiveThirtyEight

The Jags playoff chances took year another big hit Sunday and they should now focus on being respectable in their next few games.

The Jacksonville Jaguars entered their bye week with a lot of optimism as they were just a game below .500, on the verge of getting veteran Nick Foles back and the rest of the team was getting healthy, too. As a result, FiveThirtyEight had them down with nearly a 20% chance to make the playoffs, but what a difference two weeks makes.

Since, the Jags haven’t handled their business, and despite having Foles, they’ve been outscored 75-33 within the past two weeks. Of course, the defense hasn’t helped much either, allowing 483 total rushing yards. It also didn’t help that they suffered two division losses in the process, too, and they’ve now found themselves with a 1% chance in the latest projections by FiveThirtyEight.

With such slim playoff chances, the Jags need to more so focus on looking respectable on a week-to-week basis. They certainly have the schedule to achieve that feat as they have just two remaining opponents with records of .500 or better in the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders. Their other opponents in the Tampa Bay Bucs, Atlanta Falcons, and Los Angeles Chargers aren’t even at the .500 mark at the moment. Then again, at the rate the Jags are playing, those are even 50/50 crapshoots, so they could find themselves with the same record as last year (5-11) or slightly better.

Drawing up scenario where Chargers make playoffs

It’s a bit of a long shot, but the Chargers could still make the playoffs. We take a look at a scenario.

Playoffs? Yes, we are talking about the Chargers’ playoff chances.

Just three weeks ago, you could’ve said that Los Angeles was in the clear running for a playoff spot. But after two crucial losses to divisional opponents, their chances are nearly nonexistent.

L.A. is not mathematically eliminated, which means they could still play in January. According to ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index, the Chargers have a 0.4% chance to reach the postseason.

At the moment, the Bolts are three games behind the 7-4 Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, and they’re only two games back from the 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers for the No. 6 seed.

Los Angeles is no stranger to going on runs and shocking the world. It seems impossible, but plenty of crazy things happen in the NFL, and they possess the talent on both sides of the ball to make it happen, especially knowing they get an extra boost with safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips.

So, how can they continue playing in the month of January? Using ESPN’s Playoff Machine, we ran through a variety of realistic scenarios by predicting each game that involves AFC teams. In this case, the Bolts get the last Wild Card spot.

Note: This involves the Chargers winning their last five games to make this happen.

Here’s how it looks:

Week 13

Bills at Cowboys

Eagles at Dolphins

Browns at Steelers

Raiders at Chiefs

Chargers at Broncos

Titans at Colts

Patriots at Texans

Buccaneers at Jaguars

Week 14

Bengals at Browns

Dolphins at Jets

Ravens at Bills

Chargers at Jaguars

Chiefs at Patriots

Steelers at Cardinals

Broncos at Texans

Titans at Raiders

Colts at Buccaneers

Week 15

Jets at Ravens

Texans at Titans

Browns at Cardinals

Patriots at Bengals

Jaguars at Raiders

Broncos at Chiefs

Vikings at Chargers

Bills at Steelers

Dolphins at Giants

Colts at Saints

Week 16

Texans at Buccaneers

Saints at Titans

Lions at Broncos

Jaguars at Falcons

Bills at Patriots

Raiders at Chargers

Ravens at Browns

Panthers at Colts

Bengals at Dolphins

Chiefs at Bears

Steelers at Jets

Week 17

Dolphins at Patriots

Colts at Jaguars

Steelers at Ravens

Chargers at Chiefs

Jets at Bills

Browns at Bengals

Raiders at Broncos

Titans at Texans

Here’s how the standings would look:

Los Angeles wins tie break over Oakland based on best win percentage in common games.

Here’s how the playoff matchups would look like:

The bottom line is that the Chargers will not only have to run the table, but there is a slew of things that will have to happen in order to clinch a playoff berth.

It’s unfortunate that Los Angeles is in this position after being pegged as a potential Super Bowl contender, but injuries, a coaching change and most importantly, in-game mistakes ultimately cost them.

Coming off a much-needed bye, the Chargers should feel refreshed, physically and mentally and ready to overcome their disappointing losses this season. Their uphill climb all starts this weekend against the Denver Broncos.

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How can the Texans get a first-round bye?

The Houston Texans are currently not in the race to gain a first-round bye. However, they can be if certain things for their way.

With a 7-4 record, the Houston Texans’ odds of obtaining a first-round bye are slim. So slim, in fact, that Football Outsiders gives them a 0.1% chance of claiming the No. 1 seed and 2.2% chance to get the No. 2 one. However, there is a chance.

For the Texans to get that precious first-round bye, defeating the 10-1 New England Patriots — who possess the top seed — on Sunday is a must. They also must root for the Los Angeles Rams, who face the second-seed Baltimore Ravens (8-2) on Monday.

Baltimore then must lose to the hands of the 10-1 San Francisco 49ers next Sunday.

If Houston defeats the Patriots and the NFC West dominates the Ravens, the seeding would go as so:

Patriots (10-2)
Ravens (8-4)
Texans (8-4)
Chiefs (8-4)

Let’s assume the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders.

The Ravens hold the tiebreaker over the Texans if both are 8-4. Houston has the same over the Kansas City Chiefs.

From there on, the Ravens must drop a game on a relatively easy schedule post-49ers. The most glaring possibility of that happening comes in Week 14 when they travel to Buffalo to face the 8-3 Bills.

Say the Bills defeat the Ravens, Baltimore would be, at the time, 8-5. If the Texans were to beat the hapless Denver Broncos in the same week, after defeating the Patriots, they would stand at 9-4. No matter if Kansas City wins, Houston stays on top if they have the same record.

The Texans would not be able to rest at 9-4. They must win-out, meaning they would have to beat the Tennessee Titans twice and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sandwiched in-between the divisional bouts. If so, Houston would finish at 12-4.

If the Texans finish 12-4, they could gain the advantage of the first-round bye. However, they need help. The Ravens must drop three games, which may not happen considering their talent. As for the Patriots, they must completely fold by losing four of their next five — not a Bill Belichick move.

In culmination, the Texans’ only chance to gain that precious first-round bye stands within running the table and the Ravens choking away their second-seed. Houston stands at a 0.1% chance for the top-seed and 2.2% one for the second-seed for a reason. It’s going to be tough to avoid the wildcard round.

Chargers out to be playoff spoilers

Chargers could shake up the playoff race in their last five games.

The Chargers might not be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but sitting at 4-7, their chances are slim.

Following the Week 11 matchup, coach Anthony Lynn said that his team had no desire to throw the season away even though they’re on the outside looking in.

However, even though Los Angeles may not be among the 12 teams to be playing in January, they could shake things up by affecting the teams that are in the running.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar compiled a list of teams that could be spoilers the rest of the way out and among them is the Chargers.

The Chargers haven’t lost a game by more than a touchdown all season, and they’ve had the usual number of heartbreaking, late-game meltdowns that brought them to their current 4-7 record. In their past two games, losses to the Raiders and Chiefs by a combined nine points, the obvious issue was Philip Rivers’ hurling the ball all over the place, especially in ultimate crunch time. Per Sports Info Solutions, Rivers has four interceptions in the last two minutes of games this season — no other quarterback has more than one except for Dak Prescott, who has two.

The Chargers have an above-average defense, a good group of receivers, and a strong running game with Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler. Their situational awareness has been nightmarish all season, but they have enough in the tank to make things interesting for the Packers, Raiders and Chiefs in the last three weeks of the regular season … if Rivers can get his bearings.

Among the five teams that the Bolts have remaining on their schedule, three of them are in playoff contention — Vikings, Chiefs, Raiders.

Even though the Chargers have been belittled by injuries throughout the course of the season, they showed that they can play with the best of the best, as they have not lost a game by more than a touchdown all season.

But heading into the final stretch, Los Angeles will likely get back two of their best defensive players in safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips and their starting left tackle, Russell Okung.

With just those additions alone and coming off a bye to physically and mentally refresh after a handful of late-game blunders, you could be looking at a potential run by the Bolts.

Who knows, that run may be enough to knock off some team’s playoff hopes, but revive theirs. In the NFL, there are plenty of crazier things that have happened.

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AFC playoff picture: How Colts’ loss to Texans impacts standings

How does the AFC playoff picture look?

The Indianapolis Colts (6-5) have a difficult road to the playoffs over the next five games following their 20-17 loss against the Houston Texans (7-4) at NRG Stadium on Thursday night.

The Big Picture

In just one game, the Colts went from holding a top-four seed in the AFC playoff picture to being one of the teams on the outside looking in. They are currently eighth in the playoff picture tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), Oakland Raiders (6-5) and Tennessee Titans (6-5).

The Steelers and Raiders both hold the tiebreaker over the Colts given their respective wins earlier in the season while Indy currently holds the tiebreaker over the Titans thanks to their Week 2 win.

With five games remaining, the Colts will have a difficult road to the playoffs, especially with the passing game taking another hit as they lose Eric Ebron to the injured reserve list.

This Week’s Talking Point

To keep their playoff hopes alive, the Colts are back at home hosting the Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. This matchup is huge for both teams looking to stay in the hunt for one of the final spots in the conference.

The Colts currently hold the tiebreaker over the Titans in the AFC playoff seeding, but that could all change if the Titans come out victorious in Week 13. The Colts have lost three of their last four games and face a do or die situation.

We’ll Also Discuss

The impact of Ebron’s absence now that he is lost for the season. The Colts’ passing offense has been struggling in its own right and now it just lost one of its biggest contributors—even if Ebron wasn’t putting up production close to his career year.

Full Playoff Picture

New England Patriots (10-1)
Baltimore Ravens (8-2)
Houston Texans (7-4)
Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)
Buffalo Bills (8-3)
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
Oakland Raiders (6-5)
Indianapolis Colts (6-5)
Tennessee Titans (6-5)
Cleveland Browns (5-6)

Bleacher Report predicts Colts make the playoffs

Can the Colts sneak in?

It is a long and winding road for the Indianapolis Colts to make the playoffs. They are currently in the thick of the playoff hunt for the AFC and will compete with several teams for one of the final spots.

With so many teams in the hunt with records similar to the Colts (6-5), a lot will happen over the next few weeks to determine who gets in the AFC. The Colts have a vital stretch of games coming up that will very well be the deciding factor in the fate of their season.

Bleacher Report predicts the Colts will sneak in with the return of wide receiver T.Y. Hilton:

Remaining Schedule: vs. TEN, at TB, at NO, vs. CAR, at JAX

AFC Playoff Rank: 7

Despite their loss to the Texans, the Colts are in good shape for a run at the postseason. Assuming T.Y. Hilton continues to suit up, Indianapolis has decent matchups in the next two weeks against the Titans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who field the 22nd- and 31st-ranked pass defenses, respectively. Head coach Frank Reich could balance the offense and take some pressure off the ground attack that’s missing Marlon Mack.

With that said, Mack’s absence with a fractured hand will take some air out of an offense that ranks third in rush attempts. Yet Jonathan Williams has shown he can carry the load, logging 39 carries for 220 yards and a touchdown over the last two outings.

Fortunately for the Colts, Mack’s injury isn’t season-ending, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Secondly, Indianapolis fields a stout offensive line that ranks 11th in run-blocking adjusted line yards (4.42) and pass protection, per Football Outsiders. Don’t expect the coaching staff to abandon the ground attack.

If Mack can return by Week 16, he’s primed to cut through the Carolina Panthers and Jaguars (again) on the ground. Those clubs rank 27th and 29th in run defense, respectively.

In Week 13, the Colts will host the Titans. If they win that game, this club could potentially go 4-1 in the last five contests.

Hilton’s health (he’s dealing with a nagging calf ailment) will be the X-factor in this team’s push for the playoffs. He took the field Thursday on a limited snap count and had two uncharacteristic drops. Indianapolis will need him to play well through injury down the stretch. The four-time Pro Bowler gets the benefit of the doubt.

Verdict: In

The Colts have a crucial home matchup against the Titans in Week 13 before heading on the road to take on two NFC South teams in the Buccaneers and the Saints—the latter of which comes on Monday Night Football.

It will be an interesting development to see how the Colts perform down the stretch, but there is still hope they can make it if the offense takes some steps forward.