Prior to Sunday’s games, I found one site (Football Outsiders) put the Steelers’ playoff chances at 0.8%.
In other words, nearly impossible. While still a huge long shot, there is a small glimmer of hope.
If nothing else, this gives Steeler nation a reason to watch or pay attention to several games they otherwise would not care about.
Dumb and Dumber is one of my all-time favorite movies, so in the words of Lloyd Chritmas, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance…. Yeaaaahhhhhhh!”
With only one week left, the situation becomes slightly more clear. Steeler nation should be rooting for the Bengals, Chiefs, and Jets in addition to the Steelers.
The Bengals will be hosting the Ravens in Cincinnati where they should be favored. Lucky for us, the Bengals still have a shot at the #2 seed, and a first round bye to play for.
The Chiefs go on the road to face the Chargers. To me, that’s a coin flip game if the Chiefs play to win. The Chiefs defense and run game can keep them in any game, but Rivers has shown he’s capable of an upset. Unfortunately, Andy Reid won’t say if his starter will play or not.
I’m a big proponent of not resting starters, but an injury to someone like Jamaal Charles would doom the Chiefs’ playoff chances.
The Jets are the team least likely to be favored (if the Chiefs play everyone). They go into Miami, and the Dolphins have shown they’re capable of beating a lot of teams in the middling AFC.
If all four teams win, it would force a 4 way tie at 8-8 for the 6th seed. The division tie breaker would eliminate the Dolphins because the Jets would have a better division record. Then the Steelers’ conference record would give them the edge of the Jets and Chargers.
Like I mentioned, this takes the chances from less than 1% to about 5%, but I’m glad I get to care about football for one more week before the long and potentially painful offseason.
