Steelers May Be Huge Beneficiary Of Week 2 Ravens Game That Nobody Thought Mattered

The Pittsburgh Steelers have set themselves up nicely for the brutal end-of-season stretch run. A finishing slate of the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals is an absolute gauntlet. The final four contests of the year made it imperative for the organization to be in a good place in December, and that's the case as the team sits atop the AFC North with a record of 10-3. The first overall seed is still slightly in play, but the big focus currently is winning the division and hosting a home playoff game for the first time since the 2020 campaign.

As the regular season winds down, it's important for fans to understand the NFL's tie-breaking procedures. It's pretty simple for the Steelers moving forward in the grand scheme of things. All Pittsburgh has to do is beat the Ravens in Week 16, and the division crown, along with a postseason game at home, will be clinched. However, even a loss that week may not ruin the year.

In terms of tiebreakers, a loss in Baltimore would eliminate head-to-head with the two teams splitting the season series. If both the Steelers and Ravens potentially win against the Bengals and Cleveland Browns in Week 18, division records would also be deadlocked at 4-2. This is where it begins to get interesting. Next up would be winning percentage in common games.

The Steelers will need to beat either the Eagles or Chiefs, which would grant them a game up on the Ravens as Baltimore lost to both franchises. What looms large in this whole situation, however, is Baltimore's brutal Week 2 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, a team that Pittsburgh beat handily by a score of 32-13. Not only did this give the Ravens an extra loss that put them in a hole they need to dig out of, but it also is another common game that the Steelers have the leg up on.

With a current record of 8-5, the Ravens losing a game at home to one of the worst teams in the AFC could be one of the main reasons why the AFC North is won by Pittsburgh. Anything can happen over the course of the final four weeks, especially with the Steelers' difficult stretch, but all the way back in September, no one could have predicted that a Baltimore loss to Las Vegas would loom so large.

There are several different scenarios that have Pittsburgh winning the division, and the simple one is just beating the Ravens in Week 16. With that said, there are other avenues that exist as well, and if both teams end up with the same record by the end of the year (and Baltimore beats the Steelers), it's still almost certain that Head Coach Mike Tomlin and co. would host a playoff game in the first round.

Overall, the Ravens’ losses to the Chiefs, Raiders and most recently, the Eagles, have put Baltimore in an extremely difficult spot as the holidays approach. The key for the Steelers is to beat the Eagles in Week 15, and then, hypothetically, all that would be needed to win the AFC North would be a victory over either Baltimore in Week 16 or Cincinnati in Week 18. The Chiefs contest might not matter at all, especially if Kansas City doesn't lose a game from now until then.

Steelers Have More Realistic Chance To Secure Highly Coveted Two Seed

The Buffalo Bills, despite a loss in Week 14, are a phenomenal football team. The Chiefs seem to be running away with home-field advantage, but the difference between the two and three could be monumental. There is a strong chance that Buffalo and Pittsburgh play in the postseason for the second straight year, and it would mean all the difference to host it at home. Both organizations sit at 10-3, but the Bills currently have the tiebreaker.

Do you think that the Ravens will regret a Week 2 loss to the Raiders? Let us know in the comments below!

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