History Does Not Favor Steelers as 7th Seed

Four seasons ago, the NFL expanded its playoff field from 12 teams to 14 teams and introduced the seventh seed into the postseason mix. However, since the introduction of seven playoff teams per conference, the “last team in” has not fared well which means if history has anything to say, the Steelers are in trouble on Sunday.

The 2020 NFL season was the first year that the seventh-best team from each conference had an opportunity at postseason aspirations. In both cases, the seventh-seed lost their respective matchups.

The following season, the Steelers squeaked into the playoffs as the AFC’s seventh-seed before they were demolished at Arrowhead Stadium by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-21.

Last season was no different for the seventh-seed as they lost both of the matchups once again, making the seventh-seed record in the playoffs since the inception of the format change, 0-6.

This season, the Steelers narrowly claimed the seventh seed for the second time in four seasons. While they face an arguably easier opponent this time around in the Buffalo Bills, it will still be an uphill battle for the Steelers to break the mold and claim a victory in Orchard Park on Sunday.

With this season being the second time that the Steelers find themselves in this exact scenario, it should be pointed out that the Bills are no stranger to the seventh-seed versus second-seed matchup, either.

In the 2020 playoffs, the Bills edged out the Indianapolis Colts, 27-24, as the second-seed, and just last season, the Bills barely defeated the Skylar Thompson-led seventh-seeded Dolphins, 34-31, in Super Wild Card Weekend.

While history does not favor the Steelers’ chances this weekend, the Bills have shown that they will allow their opponent to stick around in these situations with their two victories coming by 3 points each.

For the Steelers, that might just be all that they need as the story of this team has been, ‘Let us stick around and we will find a way.’

Full list of No. 7 vs. No. 2 in NFL playoff games:

2020-21

No. 2 Buffalo beat No. 7 Indianapolis, 27-24
No. 2 New Orleans beat No. 7 Chicago 21-9

2021-22

No. 2 Kansas City beat No. 7 Pittsburgh 42-21
No. 2 Tampa Bay beat No. 7 Philadelphia 31-15

2022-23

No. 2 Buffalo beat No. 7 Miami 34-31
No. 2 San Francisco beat No. 7 Seattle 41-23