Steelers playoff scenarios: Who will Pittsburgh play in Wild Card Round after Week 18 loss?
By Scott Rogust
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Week 18 hoping they would have had a shot at winning the AFC North. But that was off the table after the Baltimore Ravens easily defeated the Cleveland Browns 35-10 to win the division. But, the Steelers still had implications in their matchup on Saturday against the Bengals. They could clinch the No. 5 seed and eliminate the Bengals from playoff contention in the process.
Instead, the Steelers fell flat, losing 19-17 to the Bengals to keep their foes' playoff hopes alive. With that, the Steelers are now on a four-game losing streak heading into the playoffs.
With the vibes being low right now, Steelers fans are probably wondering who they will face off against in the Wild Card Round.
Steelers playoff scenarios: Who will Pittsburgh play in Wild Card Round?
Had the Steelers won, they would have clinched the No. 5 seed and faced off against the No. 4 seeded team, the Houston Texans. That is probably the more favorable matchup for Pittsburgh, considering how banged up Houston's offense is, particularly at wide receiver.
But with this loss, the Steelers could now fall to the No. 6 seed and would have to play — the Ravens. That would be an unideal matchup, even with wide receiver Zay Flowers likely to miss that game due to a knee injury. Facing off against Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry? How can the Steelers offense keep up?
So, here are the scenarios for Sunday's games that will determine the Steelers Wild Card Round opponent:
# Playoff Seed | How Steelers Get That Playoff Seed | Wild Card Round Opponent |
|---|---|---|
No. 5 | Los Angeles Chargers loss vs. Las Vegas Raiders | No. 4 Houston Texans |
No. 6 | Los Angeles Chargers win vs. Las Vegas Raiders | No. 3 Baltimore Ravens |
So, the Steelers will be rooting for the Raiders to pick up an upset win over the Chargers to still get the No. 5 seed. With that, they face the Texans. But, if the Chargers win, the Steelers will face the Ravens for the third time this season, and will have to head back to Baltimore in a playoff game.
The Steelers had control of their playoff destiny a month ago. But after four straight losses, they will need the Chargers to determine whether they get the No. 5 or 6 seed.
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