How Pittsburgh Season Can Be Killed By Ravens - Or By Steelers Themselves: AFC Playoff Picture

How Pittsburgh Season Can Be Killed By Baltimore Ravens - Or By Steelers Themselves: AFC Playoff Picture

 

The No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens have no particular incentive on Saturday afternoon NFL Week 18 to win. …

Except for one thing: To make sure the Pittsburgh Steelers lose.

The 2023 season has been highly gratifying for the 13-3 Ravens. They’ve clinched the AFC bye, they’ve endured health issues, they boast a dominant defense and an MVP candidate in Lamar Jackson and four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook just dropped into their laps.

But there is one more fun thing to achieve: Kill the season of the AFC North rival Steelers today.

Coach Mike Tomlin’s Steelers are almost legendarily sound when it comes to remaining in playoff contention; he has never in his 17 years in Pittsburgh experienced a losing season.

And today? The Steelers are 9-7 and need a win - plus help - to join the Ravens in the playoffs.

In this regular-season finale, the Steelers first need a win over the Ravens in this afternoon’s game.

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Do that and they turn their attention to other competition, as their playoff hopes will be decided by three games: the Houston Texans vs. the Indianapolis Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. the Tennessee Titans, or the Buffalo Bills vs. the Miami Dolphins. 

Here is the breakdown (barring a series of tie games, in which case the scenarios get wildly complex):

With a win over the Ravens, the Steelers will make the playoffs if: 

Texans and Colts (Saturday night) tie 

OR

Jaguars lose to Titans (Sunday)

OR

Bills lose to Dolphins (Sunday)

So the Steelers have a shot … as they do often do. And the Ravens have a shot at eliminating them … as Baltimore would love to do.