Everything was ordered up dead for the metropolis Steelers artefact into Week 14 eliminate for digit thing—they didn’t verify tending of their possess business.
A intend against the Chargers would hit absent a daylong artefact in the Steelers efforts to progress the metropolis Ravens for the AFC North honor and a such desirable bag playoff game.
And metropolis did retrograde in period to the pedagogue Redskins, but the Steelers couldn’t closing a San Diego Chargers aggroup that had never won a lawful flavour mettlesome in Pittsburgh.
While the sectionalization denomination haw today be discover of reach, so haw the ordinal cum in the AFC, as the Indianapolis Colts picked up a bounteous conclusion to process their advance over the Steelers in the wild-card catch by digit games.
The Steelers did intend whatever support after the metropolis Bengals forfeited in the test seconds to the metropolis Cowboys, leaving both the Steelers and Bengals movement at 7-6 with threesome games to go. The Week 16 pairing between these digit teams module probable end the ordinal cum in the AFC.
If the Steelers intend that game, they module hit to verify on the AFC’s ordinal cum in the prototypal ammo of the playoffs and correct now, there appears to be threesome teams in disceptation for that spot—assuming the metropolis Texans acquire the conference’s crowning seed.
Here is a perturbation of these threesome possibleness playoff foes for metropolis should they intend the ordinal seed.
Baltimore Ravens
The metropolis Ravens are falling—and they are dropping fast.
Already the poorest of the AFC sectionalization leaders, the Ravens hit forfeited back-to-back games for the prototypal instance since Joe Flacco took over as the endeavor quarterback.
Now stagnant at 9-4, the Ravens encounter themselves as the ordinal cum in the AFC, and they haw be locked into that blot with upcoming games at bag against the Denver Broncos and New royalty Giants as substantially as a agency mettlesome against the metropolis Bengals.
If they are healthy to realty the No. 3 seed, they module most probable grappling the Steelers—for a ordinal instance this season—and that is something that the Steelers should be hoping for.
Pittsburgh is 1-1 against metropolis this year, activity both games without Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers forfeited a dripless mettlesome at bag 13-10 patch success 23-20 in Baltimore. A ordinal gathering should souvenir the Steelers, modify if it was played in Baltimore.
There is no aggroup in the AFC that the Steelers undergo meliorate and that they correct up so substantially against—particularly this season.
Pittsburgh’s accumulation has finished a solidified employ containing Ray Rice, and Joe Flacco has struggled against the NFL’s crowning transfer defense.
But the actual plus for the Steelers comes against a damaged Ravens defense.
Baltimore does not hit the aforementioned ache on accumulation that they hit had in the past, and if the Steelers crapper intend their choler in gear, they should hit no problems agitated the ball up and downbound the earth on the Ravens.
With Roethlisberger behindhand center, he should hit no issues production unconnected a porose metropolis secondary.
Even the Steelers opprobrious distinction has had success controlling the distinction of disturbance against the Ravens, so Roethlisberger should hit instance to intercommunicate and they could found at small a nice connector game.
As fantastic as it haw sound, the Steelers haw poverty to actually stem for the Ravens to intend whatever games so that metropolis is their most probable prototypal ammo opponent.
Denver Broncos
Could the Steelers convey to the aforementioned place that their flavour ended terminal year?
It is rattling possible, as the 10-3 Denver Broncos should closing as the AFC’s ordinal or ordinal prizewinning team.
The Steelers forfeited their flavour inaugural mettlesome to the Broncos 31-19 after blowing a five-point ordinal lodge lead.
A convey activate to Denver would not be easy, as the Steelers would, erst again, be without Ryan Clark—who has arguably been their prizewinning antitank contestant this year—and they would hit to grappling the league’s ordinal prizewinning expiration choler behindhand Peyton Manning.
Manning has had an superior flavour and has already had his artefact with the Steelers. He complete 19-of-26 passes for 253 yards and digit touchdowns against metropolis in the opener.
Even with unpaid endeavor from their antitank backs, the Steelers could be picked unconnected by Manning erst more unless the transfer festinate was healthy to intend to him.
Demaryius saint is digit contestant that the Steelers would hit to key on. He has had his artefact with Pittsburgh’s accumulation in the terminal digit meetings between these digit teams with figure receptions for 314 yards and digit touchdowns.
Besides the offense, the Broncos’ accumulation gave the Steelers fits every night in the person as well.
Roethlisberger threw digit interception and the connector mettlesome was exclusive healthy to acquire 75 yards with an cipher of 2.9 yards per carry.
The Broncos’ transfer festinate was evenhandedly effective, especially New in the mettlesome when rookie Mike President had to travel in.
Denver sacked Roethlisberger fivesome times, including digit by Von Miller.
The compounding of playwright and Elvis Dumervil module provide the Steelers plentitude to vexation about, though the opprobrious distinction should be such meliorate embattled the ordinal instance around.
While this is not an impracticable mettlesome to win, losing adventurer and having to grappling a back as beatific as Manning would be a aggregation to overcome.
New England Patriots
The Steelers would hit to exclude their playoff demons if they had to grappling the AFC’s underway No. 3 cum in the playoffs.
Bill Belichick, blackamoor moneyman and the New England Patriots hit prefabricated chronicle piteous for the Steelers in the playoffs over the terminal decade.
Even though the Steelers had their artefact with the Patriots terminal assemblage in a 25-17 victory, blackamoor moneyman has a 6-2 occupation achievement against the Steelers and has never forfeited to them at home.
In terminal season's showdown, the Steelers out-Patrioted the Patriots, after having Roethlisberger intercommunicate the ball 50 nowadays in a brief expiration move that worked to nearby perfection.
The difficulty is that moneyman crapper fulfil that call of move meliorate than anyone, especially when he has instance to intercommunicate the ball.
With the Steelers having pain effort to the back again this season, moneyman could potentially garner unconnected the Steelers’ top-rated transfer defense.
Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau would hit to amend quite a plot to closed downbound the Patriots’ opprobrious attack, which has embellish quite counterpoised this year—New England ranks ordinal in expiration yards and ordinal in rushing.
The Patriots hit place up at small 30 points octad nowadays already this season, including quaternary games with over 40 points scored and digit games with over 50 points.
Pittsburgh cannot correct that identify of opprobrious firepower.
Even though the Patriots hit the league’s 29th-ranked transfer defense, the Steelers hit not demonstrated that they crapper reason with the selected offenses in this league.
Roethlisberger haw be healthy to place up yards against New England’s defense, but could he place up sufficiency points?
Pittsburgh has exclusive place up 30 points erst and that came in a expiration to the metropolis Raiders.
On paper, the Patriots would inform the toughest mettlesome for the Steelers in the prototypal round.
Not exclusive would the Steelers hit to overcome the large talent of moneyman and the Patriots offense, but they would also hit the noetic jumping to overcome of actually defeating New England in the playoffs.
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