The Pittsburgh Steelers were always expected to have one of the toughest stretches of December football in the NFL. On Sunday, the team traveled to play the Philadelphia Eagles in a city it had not won in dating back to 1965. That trend continued, as the end result for Head Coach Mike Tomlin and co. was a 27-13 loss. If there was any positive to come out of Week 15, the organization clinched a spot in the postseason for the second straight year due to losses by the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins. Seeding is still up in the air, but Pittsburgh is playoff bound.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin looks in the distance as his players practice during 2022 training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
The end goal to every season is a Super Bowl victory, but the AFC is no easy battlefield to navigate with the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens all in the picture. First and foremost, the Steelers' goal is to defeat the Ravens in Week 16 in order to clinch the AFC North. Pittsburgh hasn't hosted a home playoff game since the 2020 campaign.
The entire fan base is hoping for a sea of black and gold to have the opportunity to come together at Acrisure Stadium in January, but the easiest path to the Super Bowl may not necessarily be one that sees the team as a division winner. If Baltimore defeats Pittsburgh on Saturday, the Steelers will most likely have to defeat both the Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals in back-to-back weeks to win the AFC North, barring an unexpected Ravens loss.
The Houston Texans could throw a wrench into things by defeating Baltimore on Christmas Day, but the Ravens will be favored in each of their final three regular season contests. If Pittsburgh does falter and find a way to lose the division, it could actually set up better potential for a postseason run, and that's due to the Texans not being as formidable as they were in 2023.
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Houston Texans then-rookie quarterback CJ Stroud prepares to throw a pass as his team participates in a 2023 practice.
Aside from whichever two teams get into the Wild Card, it's easy for fans to label the Texans as one of the easier outs in the postseason picture. The Ravens could certainly come next, and that is due to the Steelers' familiarity with the AFC North foe. There is a scenario in which Pittsburgh lands the five seed and has to travel to play in Houston. The path to the sixth or seven is improbable because of a two-game stretch in September.
At the time, no one knew how important back-to-back wins against the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers would be. The two teams will face off in Week 16, and if the currently five-loss Broncos and six-loss Chargers both end up tied with the Steelers come the end of the regular season, Pittsburgh would have the tiebreaker, and be crowned the fifth seed. This is all tied back to a Steelers' loss at Baltimore, however.
Pittsburgh would prefer to win the division and host a Wild Card matchup, but the thought of possibly traveling to Buffalo immediately after makes a Super Bowl appearance that much more difficult. Because of the tiebreaker being held over the Broncos and Chargers, traveling to play Houston and then heading to Kansas City (assuming the Chiefs are the one seed), is a much better path to the AFC Championship Game, as the Bills seem unbeatable at the moment.
Any Steelers fan will tell you bluntly that a division title is the ultimate goal, but early wins in September could prove to be important in terms of a first-round postseason game should Pittsburgh lose several contests in a row around the holidays. The main point to hold onto is that Tomlin's team did enough early on (with a rough stretch to end the season) to have a few different scenarios available to it at this point in the year.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin walks on the field at 2023 training camp while his team practices at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Steelers Likely To Have To Beat Bills To Get To The Super Bowl
It's hard to imagine a playoff scenario in which Pittsburgh doesn't have to take on Buffalo. There is a possibility of the Steelers beating the Texans and then Chiefs as a Wild Card, as well as the Ravens ultimately beating the Bills, but that's a tough ask all the way around. In this case, however, Baltimore would end up hosting Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game.
All of these scenarios will drive a Steelers fan nuts, but that's the reality of football this time of year. Overall, Tomlin's group is still in good shape, and one of the main reasons for that is wins over Denver and Los Angeles.
Do you think having the fifth seed could lead to an easier route to the Super Bowl for Pittsburgh? Let us know in the comments below!
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