6 scenarios for Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs

Normally, most teams control their destiny in the playoff race when December rolls around. This scenario is mostly true of the Steelers in 2021.

The Steelers have three remaining games. They play at Kansas City, host the Browns in Week 16, and travel to Baltimore the season’s final week. Given there are three weeks left, it is a bit muddled as to whether the Steelers make the playoffs.

However, in reality, it is not very complicated. If Pittsburgh wins out, they’re almost certainly in the playoffs. Lose, well; their chances go down quite a bit — somewhere between slim and none, with none being out of town. Here are six scenarios in which they can make the tournament this year:

Scenario 1

If the Steelers win their last three games, they win the AFC North — assuming the Bengals have one loss in their last three games. Otherwise, they do not need any help to make the playoffs. However, they would only be the fourth seed, and they would play host in the wild card weekend of the playoffs. So this is what most fans would hope happens. Unless perhaps you were hoping for that high draft pick.

However, they are playing the Chiefs Sunday, and at Kansas City no less. That’s not an easy venue to secure a victory. Given the Steelers’ problems at scoring in the first half, playing from behind against the Chiefs is a dangerous game, and they find themselves in a situation like the Vikings game.

That said, the Chiefs have some COVID issues, and perhaps the black and gold catch a break and get the upset victory. A victory makes their playoff odds a bit easier.