BALTIMORE -- Heading into Sunday's slate of games, the Steelers had a 2% chance to make the playoffs. However, everything went their way in Week 17, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.
More than anything, the Steelers needed to win in Baltimore, and they walked out of M&T Bank Stadium with a 16-13 victory over the Ravens thanks to a game-winning touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to Najee Harris in the final minute of Sunday night's game.
But, the Steelers also needed the Dolphins and Jets to lose their games, and that played out in Pittsburgh's favor as well.
“Obviously, they put our game at 8 p.m., so we were able to see some of the stuff that was going on," Harris said after Sunday night's win over the Ravens. "So, we saw that, but we didn’t want to pay attention to that too much. We just want to pay attention to what we have to do, and that was to beat the Ravens and win out. We have to control what we can control, and we won this one and everything played out this week, so we’re just trying go in next week and win that one.”
Now, heading into Week 18, the Steelers' chances to make the playoffs as the AFC's No. 7 seed rose to 15%, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. That number is still significantly low because there are still multiple hurdles to overcome.
First and foremost, as Harris said, the Steelers need to defeat the Browns at Acrisure Stadium. The Steelers, Patriots and Dolphins are fighting for the final spot in the playoffs, and Pittsburgh can't win any tiebreakers due to losses to both teams earlier in the season. They must finish the season 9-8 to make the playoffs.
In turn, both New England and Miami have to lose or finish in a tie. Both teams are 8-8, and if either of them win their ninth game next week, it automatically eliminates the Steelers from playoff contention. The Patriots travel to Buffalo and the Dolphins host the Jets.
Chances are good the Bills will beat the Patriots. Buffalo opened as 7.5-point favorites and they'll still be fighting for seed placement, especially if they beat the Bengals on Monday Night Football. All the Bills have to do is match the Chiefs' record the rest of the way and they'll earn the top seed in the AFC and a first-round bye. So, the Bills will likely have something significant to play for.
On the other hand, the Jets are eliminated from playoff contention, which means the only thing they can play for is spoiling Miami's bid for a playoff spot. The Dolphins opened at 3-point favorites over the Jets, and despite their five-game losing streak, are a better football team than New York on paper. However, their quarterback situation could be the break the Steelers need.
Tua Tagovailoa is recovering from his second official concussion (though many consider it his third), and there's no guarantee he plays. Teddy Bridgewater injured a finger on his throwing hand in Sunday's loss to the Patriots, and his status could be up in the air. That leaves rookie Skylar Thompson at quarterback if Tagovailoa or Bridgewater can't go.
There is still quite a bit in the way of the Steelers' bid for a playoff spot. But after a 3-7 start to the season, playing for a playoff spot in the final week of the season shows how remarkable this turnaround has been for Pittsburgh.
