Another week later, another week in which the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to avoid best-case scenarios in playoff seeding. Simply put, nothing is going right for the Steelers, and a 27-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals showed the Steelers are way further ahead than the team many originally believed they were.
The good news? There are two weeks before the games really matter. The bad news? The Steelers have too many problems right now to clear and regain their once undefeated form. Next up is Pittsburgh’s final regular season home game against the 10-4 Indianapolis Colts, with a familiar path to the AFC North crown in Week 16.
Current AFC ranking:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (13-1, won division)
2. Buffalo Bills (11-3, Clinched Division)
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3, playoffs birth)
4. Tennessee Titans (10-4)
5. Cleveland Browns (10-4)
6. Indianapolis Colts (10-4)
7. Miami Dolphins (9-5)
Though the Steelers are still a long way off, they still have a chance of reaching number one, and they may also prove capable of falling to number six if they don’t win the division. Let’s take a look at Pittsburgh’s playoff scenarios (and other interesting ones) to watch out for in Week 16:
* All odds come from BetOnline.ag and are valid from December 22nd. Up to date
Win the AFC North
Pittsburgh wins against Indianapolis
OR
Cleveland loss to New York Jets
OR
PIT / CLE bind both
New week, same scenario: win and you are the division champion. That’s a lot easier said than done when you’re the Steelers, especially if you’re unable to beat a Bengals team on their third-string quarterback to secure the top spot at the AFC North.
With a tough matchup against Indianapolis and Cleveland facing the Jets, some are questioning whether or not the Steelers will be able to win the AFC North in week 16. BetOnline however continues to favor Pittsburgh to win the division as the Steelers are currently sitting at -375 favorites. Cleveland is currently sitting at +275 underdogs.
While the Steelers are division favorites for the time being, they remain +1.5 point underdogs of the Colts for their week 16 meeting, while the Browns are -10 point favorites over the Jets.
Pittsburgh’s lonely playoff scenario is easy with only one title left in the division this week. But how does the rest of the conference summarize their respective scenarios?
Other playoff scenarios
The Kansas City Chiefs can reach number one in the AFC in one of the following ways: A win over Atlanta OR a Pittsburgh loss OR a buffalo loss. There is also another scenario where KC’s strength of schedule tiebreaker versus BUF / PITs could occur, although it is still unclear exactly which teams would have to win / lose.
There is no doubt that the odds makers value the Chiefs as the team is currently a -10.5-point favorite over the Falcons, as well as being the AFC champion favorites at -120 (closest to Buffalo at +500) and as Super Bowl favorite at + 175 (closest is Green Bay at +600) goes this week.
The Cleveland Browns seem almost ready to celebrate a playoff birth this week as a variety of scenarios could work out in their favor: A win over New York + Baltimore loss / tie OR a win + Miami loss / tie OR a win + Indianapolis defeat OR a tie + Baltimore loss OR a tie + Miami loss.
The Browns are very likely to make it through the postseason and BetOnline appears to be agreeing to that. The Browns are set to -1600 to perform in the postseason. Should they win / lose the Steelers, check their division odds before hosting Pittsburgh.
The Indianapolis Colts are still fighting for their own title in the division, although they can only get a playoff spot in Week 16 with the following scenarios: A win against Pittsburgh + Baltimore loss / tie OR a win + Miami loss / tie OR a tie + Baltimore loss OR a tie + Miami loss.
Much like the Browns, the odds makers are pretty confident that the Colts will make the postseason and see themselves as -1200 favorites to make the playoffs. As for their division’s win, they are behind our next team with odds of +125.
The Tennessee Titans can potentially win both a playoff spot and the AFC South Division this week. The only way to get to the AFC South Crown is to beat the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee against Pittsburgh. Your playoff berth scenarios are as follows: A win OR Miami loss OR Baltimore loss OR a tie + Baltimore tie.
Tennessee, which is currently sitting at odds of -155 to win the AFC South, doesn’t even have odds on the site to bet on its playoff chances, which shows how confident the odds makers are in the Titans, the postseason to accomplish.
Donnie Druin is a staff writer at AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
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