Steelers playoff picture: How Pittsburgh can clinch AFC wild-card spot in Week 18
The Steelers have clinched another winning season under coach Mike Tomlin, as they are 9-7 going into Week 18 of the 2023 NFL Season. They also still have a good shot of making the AFC playoffs going into Saturday afternoon’s road game at the Ravens (4:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN).
Here’s what needs to happen for Pittsburgh to earn a wild-card berth and join rival Baltimore, which already has clinched the AFC North and conference No. 1 seed, in the playoff field ahead of Super Bowl 58:
Steelers’ current playoff picture
The Steelers are positioned as the No. 9 AFC team, looking up at both the No. 8 Texans and No. 7 Colts, who are both also 9-7. Indianapolis hosts Houston to close out Week 18’s Saturday action.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, in terms of tiebreakers, they lost in blowout fashion earlier this season to both the Texans and Colts.
How Steelers get into the AFC playoffs in Week 18
Here’s breaking down Pittsburgh’s three paths to a wild-card berth
1. The Steelers beat the Ravens and…
The Steelers’ winning their game in Baltimore to improve to 10-7 will give them their best chance. Then they need one of the following scenarios to play out:
The Bills lose to the Dolphins or …
This would put the Steelers and the winner of Texans-Colts into the playoffs as the final two wild-card teams behind the Browns. The Bills would be left out as the only team in the resulting 10-7 trio without an above-.500 conference record.
… The Jaguars lose to or tie the Titans or …
The Jaguars will go into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed and AFC South champions with a win over the Titans. However, if they fall to 9-7-1 or 9-8, along with one team from the Texans-Colts game, the Steelers and the Bills-Dolphins loser would be the final two wild cards.
… The Texans and Colts tie
In this scenario, the Bills or Dolphins would be a 10-7 wild card along with the Steelers. The Texans and Colts would be each 9-7-1. with either both teams out of the playoffs or one team winning the South based on the Jaguars’ result.
2. The Steelers tie the Ravens and…
In the unlikely event the teams play to an overtime draw on Saturday, there’s one combination that can still get the Steeles into the playoffs:
Jaguars lose and either the Texans or Colts win
The Steelers here would be 9-7-1. The Jaguars would fall to 9-8, and either the Texans or Colts would also be 9–8. That puts the Steelers in the playoffs as a wild card behind the Browns and the Bills-Dolphins loser.
3. The Steelers lose to the Ravens and…
Believe it or not, the Steelers can also still get in with a loss, but they would need a strange mix of other events to occur:
Jaguars lose, Broncos win, and either the Texans or Colts win
Here, the Steelers are 9-8, along with the Jaguars and the Texans-Colts loser. The Texans-Colts winner then elevates to winning the AFC South.
The Broncos would improve to 9-8 if they beat the Raiders. In the event of a four-way tie, the Steelers get the last tiebreaker in a mix with the Jaguars, Broncos, and Texans or Colts.