The Pittsburgh Steelers need to take care of business in Baltimore, but if they defeat the Ravens in Week 18, they'll spend the next day glued to the television with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills in mind.
The Steelers have a few ways to get into the postseason. However, the simplest path to the wildcard is by defeating the Ravens and either the Jaguars losing to the Tennessee Titans or the Bills losing to the Miami Dolphins. A tie between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans would also work.
Here are their other scenarios:
- Steelers tie and Indianapolis and Houston do not tie and Jacksonville loses OR
- Steelers lose and Indianapolis and Houston do not tie, Jacksonville lose, and Denver win.
To help with their efforts, the Jaguars could be without their starting quarterback. Despite returning to practice in a limited capacity this week, Trevor Lawrence is still dealing with shoulder and finger injuries, and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport isn't too optimistic he'll play against the Titans.
"It does seem like where Trevor Lawrence is at right now is throwing a little bit and trying to feel better," Rapoport said. "Which really is not a great place to be when you’re talking about Thursday before what is essentially a playoff game, need to win. … The fact that Trevor Lawrence is not participating fully, the fact that he’s still trying to throw and see how he is, to me, just kind of reading the tea leaves here, it doesn’t seem like he’s in a great position to play."
If Lawrence cannot play, the Jaguars will turn to C.J. Beathard as their starter. He's played in seven games this season, throwing for 349 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel gave an impassioned speech about why his team is fighting to spoil the Jaguars' playoff plans in Week 18. The Steelers will be on Vrabel's side with the two teams kickoff this weekend.
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