The Steelers Could Still Obtain The Seventh Seed In Week 17 Even With A Devastating Loss In Seattle

The Pittsburgh Steelers had been in the AFC playoff picture for the majority of the 2023 regular season, even leading the AFC North at times. They now are on the outside looking in, as they currently sit in ninth-place in the AFC. If the season ended after 16 weeks, they would have missed the playoffs. The Steelers have a few ways to make it to the postseason, with the most obvious being winning their last two games of the regular season and hoping for some losses from teams ahead of them in the AFC. 

Steelers Could Sneak Into The Playoff Picture With A Loss In Week 17

It is crucial for Pittsburgh to win their last two games of the regular season. It will severely help their playoff chances if they do so, but it is also good to know that even if the Steelers lose against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17, they still have a chance to extend their season. 

While Steelers fans are preparing to watch their team take on the Seahawks, there is one extremely important game in the early window that Steelers fans should be aware of. 

The game is the Las Vegas Raiders versus the Indianapolis Colts. Steelers fans should be rooting for the Raiders to beat the Colts, which would force a three-way tie-breaker for the seventh-seed between the Raiders, Colts, and Steelers if they were to lose to the Seahawks later that day. In this three-way tie-breaker, head-to-head matches would not matter. 

They essentially all cancel out since the Steelers beat the Raiders, and the Raiders would have beaten the Colts, who beat the Steelers. All three teams would have an 8-8 record, and all three teams would have the same conference record at 6-5. 

The next step in a tie-breaker of this size is to look at all three team's strength of victory, which is the winning percentage of all the teams each of the three teams have beaten. The Steelers easily take this category as they have the second best strength of victory in the entire NFL, and have the best in the AFC. The Steelers have taken down both the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, who each still have a chance at the one seed in the AFC. Other important wins the Steelers have came against the Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, and the Raiders, who are all vying for a playoff spot. 

Even with a loss against Seattle, the Steelers season is still very much alive, as long as the Raiders beat the Colts. The Colts are coming off of a gross loss against the Atlanta Falcons, while the Raiders are still riding the interim head coach bump as they were able to take down the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16. If the Raiders win and the Steelers lose, Pittsburgh will control their own destiny. They will just need to beat the Ravens in Week 18, who may rest their starters if they are able to beat the Miami Dolphins in Week 17 to clinch the one- eed.