Steelers on Outside Looking in at Playoffs After Loss to Jets

When it comes to the NFL, things can change in a hurry. When you are the Pittsburgh Steelers in the highly competitive AFC North, things can change at the speed of light.

On the heels of Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the New York Jets, it is time to take a look at where the Steelers are in the playoff hunt and how to right the ship going forward.

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Pittsburgh was riding high earlier in the week. After the Cleveland Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-3 on Thursday night, the Steelers found themselves in first place in the AFC North. This was great news because all Pittsburgh had to do this week was beat the lowly New York Jets to stay on top. How good were things? This good, as noted by NFL.com's Marc Sessler:

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If season ended today -- and, yes, we know it doesn't -- AFC wild card games would be Browns-Colts & Steelers-Chiefs http://t.co/2ikMvqfEMm

— Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) November 8, 2014"

Unfortunately, Pittsburgh spent too much time reading their own press clippings and not enough time preparing for the game, and ended up losing 20-13. It’s just one loss though. How bad could it be?

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Well, in the AFC North, one loss this season means going from first to last in the division. That’s right, as of now, the Steelers are tied for last place with the Baltimore Ravens.

At 6-4, Pittsburgh finds themselves at fourth in the division but still with the seventh-best record in the AFC. The NFL playoffs give a playoff spot to the four division winners and two wild-card teams. If the playoffs started tomorrow, the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs would be the two wild-card teams at 5-3-1 and 6-3, respectively.

It’s crazy to think that, at 6-4, the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are on the outside looking in for the playoffs. Especially after a peek over to the NFC South, where no team in the division has a winning record.

So, what do the Steelers do moving forward? They have to keep winning. The margin for error at this point is zero. However, first things first. The Steelers must put this embarrassing loss behind them and focus on traveling to Tennessee next Sunday to take on the Titans.

Tennessee might only be 2-7, but as we have all learned, a poor record doesn’t disqualify any team from beating the Steelers. The Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already proved that this season. In fact, there’s significant history to indicate this team plays down to bad football teams, as Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review points out:

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Steelers actually have lost 11 times to sub-.500 teams at the time that they played them since 2012. Teams had 15-48 record. Steelers 32-30

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) November 10, 2014"

If the Steelers can pull it together against the Titans, they will have the bye week to focus on the five-game stretch to finish the season.

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Perhaps the biggest saving grace for the Steelers is that they still have two games against the Bengals remaining. Cincinnati is currently ahead of Pittsburgh in the standings but has struggled recently as well. Pittsburgh probably has a better shot at making the playoffs as a division winner than trying to slip in as a wild-card team. That means those Cincinnati games are doubly important.

Unfortunately, along with those two against the Bengals, the Steelers also have games against the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, both of which are struggling and fighting for their playoff lives in the NFC South. The Steelers also draw the Kansas City Chiefs, who are in the same fight for those remaining AFC playoff spots. Can Pittsburgh get up for those games? That remains to be seen.

Every week that Pittsburgh doesn’t bring full intensity and effort, the longer the odds get to make the playoffs. There are six games left in the season, and the Steelers can’t afford to give up more than one or two more if they want to have a shot. But hey, this is the NFL, and anything can happen.

All team data courtesy of NFL.com.