With wins in four of their first five starts of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked like they were quickly locking up a playoff berth in the AFC North. The rest of the division struggled early, as the Cleveland Browns have been one of the worst teams in the NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals have a putrid defense and have been without Joe Burrow, and the Baltimore Ravens struggled with Lamar Jackson sidelined. The tides are starting to turn in the AFC North, though, and now the Steelers are at risk of missing the playoffs.
The State of the AFC playoff picture
Coming into Week 12, the Steelers were atop the AFC North. Now, they aren't even lined up to be a Wild Card team. With a 6-5 record, the Steelers are currently the eighth seed in the conference. Most recently, Pittsburgh lost to the Chicago Bears. The Ravens, meanwhile, are riding a five-game winning streak.
Lamar Jackson hasn't looked great as of recent, but he has been good enough to get the team back on track after missing some time. The Steelers, meanwhile, seem to be stuck in mediocrity. Although they are never below .500, they haven't gotten past the Wild Card round since 2017. The inability to take the next step forward has Mike Tomlin firmly on the hot seat.
Outside of the Ravens, the other division leaders, the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and Indianapolis Colts, all have sizeable leads in their respective division and are unlikely to drop into the Wild Card. That leaves the Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills as the teams currently in fifth, sixth, and seventh place. None of those teams is close to perfect, but they seem to be less flawed than the Steelers.
The Steelers have to worry about the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs as well. The Chiefs are in the midst of a dynasty and should never be written off, and the Texans have arguably the best defense in the NFL. Both teams are right on Pittsburgh's tail.
Will the Steelers make the playoffs?
The Steelers have been plagued by subpar quarterback play for years. Aaron Rodgers has been solid this year, especially at age 41, but he definitely isn't the player he once was. Rodgers' 1,969 passing yards leave something to be desired, as he only ranks 22nd in that regard. His wrist injury might be more worrisome going forward than originally thought, too, considering he was forced to sit out the Steelers' last game.
DK Metcalf is Rodgers' top target, but considering the team traded George Pickens before the year, there is almost nobody else to feed the ball to. The running back room of Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell is underwhelming. The always great defense isn't so great anymore, either.
Pittsburgh ranks 10th in points against and 28th in yards allowed. The core of the defense is made up of players well past their primes, such as Jalen Ramsey, Cameron Heyward, and T.J. Watt. Although the latter is still a premier player, he isn't quite as dominant as he once was. This is all culminating in the Steelers' postseason odds looking rather bleak. They are trending the wrong way, while other playoff contenders and divisional rivals are on an upward trajectory.
Not only does it seem like a tall task for the Steelers to make the playoffs this year, but there may also be no way out of mediocrity unless significant changes are made in the offseason. The Steelers are far from bad, but they aren't in a great place long-term or short-term, either.
