5 questions Steelers answered with win over the Cardinals
By Edward Hunt
The Steelers get a gritty win over the lowly Arizona Cardinals. They are right in the thick of the playoff race.
Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers have been fighting all year. It was a slow start that began 1-4. Since then, the black and gold have won seven of eight games and are in position to make the playoffs.
The Steelers will face the Bills this week and it could determine who is the fifth seed in the AFC. Buffalo is currently the fifth seed in the AFC at 9-4. That puts them one game ahead of the Steelers, but if Pittsburgh wins, then they will own the tiebreaker.
The Steelers also own the tiebreaker over the Tennessee Titans. The Titans have played good football winning six of the last seven but will need to play the Texans twice and the Saints to close the season.
Pittsburgh’s offense will have a tough test against the Buffalo Bills who have a good defense. I imagine this game could be a struggle for Devlin Hodges if he doesn’t play his best football.
This game against the Bills has some value as first it will further secure the Steelers into the sixth seed. It also could put the Steelers into the driver’s seat to win the fifth seed. That would make the Steelers first playoff game easier as they would get to play the fourth seed.
The fourth seed looks like it will be the Texans who struggled and lost to the lowly Denver Broncos 38-24. This is much better than having to play New England or Kansas City.
Things are looking up for the Steelers and so here are my answers to my five burning questions.
Can the Steelers stay ahead in the AFC wild-card race?
Pittsburgh has stayed ahead in the race for the sixth seed. They have beaten the Arizona Cardinals and so they are on the inside looking out of the wild card race. They also picked up a game on the Bills who lost to the Ravens 24-17.
The Steelers are still in a difficult battle with the Tennessee Titans who are also 8-5. The black and gold may have the tiebreaker but that does not mean the Titans will go away easy. Both teams have a difficult three games coming up but the Steelers might have the easier schedule.
The simple answer is yes, the Steelers did stay ahead in the AFC wild-card race and that is a good sign for the Steelers playoff hopes.