Had the playoffs featured seven teams in both leagues, the Pittsburgh Steelers would have qualified last year. They would have been the No. 7 seed in the AFC, which is remarkable given how chaotic it was at the quarterback position. Pittsburgh only got two starts out of Ben Roethlisberger before a season-ending injury. It was a lot of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges.
With arguably its best defense in a decade, we should expect the Steelers to return to the postseason after a two-year absence. While they may not be good enough to unseat the archival Baltimore Ravens from atop the AFC Norths’ highest perch, it’s not like the Ravens are going 14-2 again next year. Pittsburgh will close the gap enough to be at least a top-seven seed next year.
Assuming the Steelers get anything close to Pro Bowl-level play out of Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh could be a team capable of winning 10 or so games. A 10-win season would almost guarantee the Steelers a playoff spot. A winning record of 9-7 is probably good enough to get in as well, or be at least in the discussion for it.
Simply put, the Steelers are coming back-to-back years from hell. They may not be a serious Super Bowl contender this fall, but they’re not going to have a third straight year without postseason football. Pittsburgh lives for it and the Steelers will absolutely be a part of it. They are without a doubt the biggest beneficiary of the expanded playoff field in the entire AFC.