Steelers went from playoff 'pretender' to 'contender' with Russell Wilson

The return of Russell Wilson to action redefined the AFC landscape. This made the Steelers' game against the Chiefs on December 25th ultra important, as it could be a preview of the AFC championship game in January.

The Bills are currently atop the AFC East with a record of 5-2. In the AFC West, the Chiefs are 6-0. In the AFC North, the Steelers are 5-2, and the Ravens are 4-2, but they have a Monday night game in which they could still be in a tie for first place momentarily. In the AFC South, the Texans are now 5-2. As of week seven, the remainder of the teams in the hunt are the Colts and Broncos or Chargers. However, the next ten games will flush all that out.

Honestly, with the average play of Justin Fields this season, it was hard to be in the mood for any of the remaining games on the schedule. With Russel Wilson returning, well, that has now changed.

How the Steelers fare in the remainder of their schedule

The Steelers play six games with AFC North opponents, and ten games remain. If you take out the AFC North games, the Steelers still play the Giants, Commanders, and Eagles, and then on December 25th, they play the Chiefs on Christmas Day.

If the Steelers' defense and Russell Wilson play like they did against the Jets, they could improve to 7-2 ahead of their first divisional game. Now, this is where things get interesting. The Browns have become an ultimate disaster with Deshaun Watson's season-ending Achilles injury. Assuming nothing unusual occurs, give the Steelers two more wins, bumping them to 9-2.
Then we have the Bengals.

Okay, they are not the disaster the Browns are, but all things considered, their season has been disappointing, with Joe Burrows returning from last season's injury. That said, they are 3-4 and always a perennial threat. To be cautious, let's say the Steelers and Bengals split games and go 1-1. That still leaves the Steelers at 10-3.

Then we have the Ravens games. The matchups here will determine who wins the AFC North. If the Steelers win both remaining games, they will win the AFC North. They get the Ravens at home first; at least in that game, you have to give the edge to the Steelers. However, let's say they split games again and go 1-1 against the Ravens.

They are still 11-4, and if the Ravens falter anywhere else, they lose out to the Steelers. However, if the Steelers win both games, they are 12-3. Leaving two more games on the menu for the Steelers.

The Steelers still must travel to Philadelphia. Considering the Steelers abysmal record of playing in Philadelphia, let's just count that as a loss right now. The best-case scenario leaves the Steelers at 13-3, while the worst-case scenario is 11-5.

If the Steelers enter the game on Christmas day with the Chiefs at 13-3, the game could decide home-field advantage in the playoffs. If they enter the game at 11-5 well, then the game impacts them in the playoff seedings, assuming they still win the AFC North. The return of Russell Wilson has changed the AFC dramatically. It magnifies the importance of the Christmas game, giving us a potential glimpse of the AFC championship game as an early NFL Christmas present.

Steelers fans should be stoked now to see how the remainder of the season plays out, as they have one of the most durable quarterbacks in NFL history leading the team. Sure, he sat out the first six weeks, but then perhaps Mike Tomlins' caution over Wilson's calf injury could prove to be the smartest decision he made, which will give Steelers fans a lot of excitement in the next 11 weeks.