Official: It'll be Steelers vs. Bills this Sunday, 1:02 p.m., in Orchard Park

The Steelers have qualified for the postseason as the No. 7 seed, and will trek to Western New York to oppose AFC East champion and No. 2-seed Buffalo at 1:02 p.m. Sunday in Orchard Park. The game will be televised on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.

With the Jaguars' 28-20 loss to the Titans Sunday afternoon in Nashville, the 10-7 Steelers officially clinched a spot in the AFC playoffs for the first time since 2021. The Bills, 11-6, clinched the AFC East title with a 21-14 win over the Dolphins Sunday night in Miami.

The Steelers are one of three AFC North teams to qualify for the postseason. The 13-4 Ravens are the conference's No. 1 seed and the 11-6 Browns are the No. 5 seed. The entire division finished above .500 with the Bengals ending 9-8. It is the first time an entire division finished above .500 since 1935.

The Bills have wins over the Dolphins (twice), Chiefs and Cowboys, but have sustained losses to the Jets, Patriots, Bengals and Broncos this season. They were heavy Super Bowl favorites going into the season, but began on a swoon with a 6-6 record into their Week 13 bye week.

However, the Bills are arguably the hottest team going in football right now. They ran the table out of their bye with wins over the Chiefs, Cowboys, Chargers, Patriots and Dolphins to rally for the AFC East title. 

During their post-bye streak, the Bills posted 24.6 points and 353.4 yards per game. They totaled 473 yards -- with 345 passing yards from Josh Allen -- in Sunday's win over Miami. The Bills' defense limited the opposition to 16.8 points and 276.6 yards per game over their post-bye streak, including a limiting of the Cowboys' potent offense to 10 points and 195 total yards on Dec. 17.

"I think it's been the best group I've ever been a part of in terms of togetherness and overall there's just something about it," Allen said on the Sunday Night Football post-game show. "I don't know if I can describe it. We just got it, we've got to keep it rolling. (At) 6-6, a lot of people counted us out, but here we are."

Per FanDuel SportsBook, the Bills have opened as a 7.5-point favorite.

The Steelers are 2-1 all-time against the Bills in the postseason. Most recently, the Steelers beat the Bills, 40-21, in a Divisional-round game on Jan. 6, 1996, at Three Rivers Stadium. The Bills defeated the Steelers in the Divisional round in 1992, and the Steelers beat the Bills in the Divisional round in 1974. All three of those games were played in Pittsburgh. Both of the Steelers' playoff wins over the Bills led to a Super Bowl appearance.

The Steelers' last playoff appearance in 2021 was rather unkind. They were a one-and-done on Wild Card weekend with a 42-21 loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City. 

The last time the Steelers won a playoff game was Jan. 15, 2017, when they upended the Chiefs in the Divisional round at Arrowhead Stadium. They defeated the Dolphins on the previous weekend at then-Heinz Field. They lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 22, 2017.

Since that loss to New England, the Steelers are 0-3 in three postseason appearances.

Entering Week 18, the Steelers needed some help from the rest of the AFC to slide into the postseason. There was one scenario in which the Steelers would have qualified with a loss to the Ravens, but that became moot with the Steelers' 17-10 win Saturday evening in Baltimore. 

In the process of earning that win over Baltimore, though, they lost T.J. Watt to a Grade 2 MCL sprain, and he's expected to miss at least Sunday's game. Damontae Kazee is eligible to return for the postseason after serving a suspension as a result of a hit on Michael Pittman during the Steelers' game at the Colts on Dec. 16. Minkah Fitzpatrick said Saturday he will return for Sunday's game after missing three games with a knee injury.

Entering Sunday, the Steelers needed one of three things to happen in order to qualify for the postseason: A Jaguars loss, a Jaguars-Titans tie or a Bills loss. They got the first-possible scenario to break their way Sunday afternoon.

Karma for the Jaguars after this stunt in Pittsburgh this season, perhaps?