Pittsburgh Steelers Playoff Chances: Seeding & Potential Matchups Week 16

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The Steelers have defeated the Baltimore Ravens 31-24, and are AFC North champions.

It wasn’t easy, as the Steelers trailed for most of the afternoon. They rallied behind three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, the last one ending with Antonio Brown reaching for the goal line with nine seconds remaining.

But that’s over. The Steelers are in the playoffs now, and should be, along with the Patriots, one of the favorites in the AFC. With the Raiders, Dolphins and Texans all shuffling quarterbacks, the Steelers will be favored in the Wild Card round regardless of the matchups.

Here’s how the Steelers look heading after Sunday:

AFC Seeding

The Division Leaders:

1. New England Patriots — 13-2
2. Oakland Raiders — 12-3
3. Pittsburgh Steelers — 10-5
4. Houston Texans — 9-6

The Wild Card Contenders:

5. Kansas City Chiefs — 11-4
6. Miami Dolphins — 10-5
7. Baltimore Ravens — 8-7
8. Tennessee Titans — 8-7
9. Denver Broncos — 8-7

**The Patriots have clinched a first-round bye
*The Raiders have clinched a playoff berth

Potential Wild Card Matchups:

Dolphins at Steelers

Chiefs at Texans

For a full list of NFL tiebreaking procedures, click here.

Current position: 3rd in AFC, AFC North champions

Remaining schedule: vs. Browns (0-13)

Steelers Possible Playoff Opponents

The Steelers will have the third seed, and that lines them up with the Miami Dolphins. The Steelers were blown out in Miami earlier this season, but coming to Heinz Field in January is a different story.

If the Dolphins win and the Chiefs lose, then Kansas City will be the ones heading to Pittsburgh. They did that back in October, and were promptly handed their worst loss of the season on national television.

If the Broncos win out and the Dolphins lose, then the Broncos will sneak into the playoffs for another winter visit to Pittsburgh. The Broncos eliminated Pittsburgh from the postseason last year, but Denver has to win two tough AFC West matchups to take the sixth seed.