Reverse psychology: 3 NFL postseason contenders, 2 pretenders fans won't expect
By John Buhler
NFL postseason pretender: Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5)
The Pittsburgh Steelers may be 7-5 on the season, but I can't trust this offense, and neither should you. Retaining Matt Canada was a bad idea for this year, only to be outdone by canning him mid-season, something that is very out of character for a proud football franchise. Even with Kenny Pickett on the shelf with an ankle injury, the Steelers have not scored 20 points in about a month.
While the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns also have had bad quarterback injury luck, none of them are catching the Baltimore Ravens in-division. With the AFC South being surprisingly decent top-to-bottom, it would not shock me if the Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts ended up with two of the three AFC Wild Card berths. To me, this is the only way the Steelers are getting in this year.
Thursday night's game vs. the New England Patriots at home is a must-win. Otherwise, there is a chance they may not win a game the rest of the season. I mean, they just got smoked by the Arizona Cardinals. Pittsburgh still has to the Bengals and Ravens in-division, as well as the Colts and the Seattle Seahawks on the road outside of it. The best this team can do is 10-7, but that looks daunting.
This feels like a 9-8 or an 8-9 team. If it is the former, that may not be good enough for the No. 7 seed.