5 NFL teams that must win in Week 16

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

If you told Mike Tomlin at the beginning of the season that he would be in a position to win out and make the playoffs despite missing Ben Roethlisberger, James Conner, and Juju Smith-Schuster for the significant time he probably wouldn’t have believed you. The fact that the Steelers actually control their own destiny for the postseason is remarkable.

Pittsburgh is onto its third-string quarterback, with undrafted rookie Delvin “Duck” Hodges taking over after Mason Rudolph played his way out of the job. Conner just returned last week after a myriad of injuries while Smith-Schuster is still on the mend following a knee injury.

Wins in their last two games will still get the Steelers a wild card spot, but their loss to Buffalo last Sunday opened up an avenue for them to miss the playoffs entirely. If Pittsburgh drops one of its last two games and Tennessee beats Houston in Week 17, the Titans would advance ahead of the Steelers on the strength of a better conference record.

That is a tough spot for the Titans, who lost at home to Houston last week, but the Steelers would be well-advised not to tempt fate and take care of their own business. This week presents a potentially tricky matchup with the 5-9 Jets, who have four of their wins at home and feature former Steelers’ running back Le’Veon Bell.

Bell, who is struggling through a lost year, would love nothing more than to stick it to the Steelers for refusing to pay him like a true star running back. If the Jets end up winning the Bell revenge game, the Steelers would lose control of their playoff destiny entering the final week of the year.