Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s storied career will likely come to an end Sunday in Baltimore. Roethlisberger faces the Ravens for the 27th and final time. Fittingly, there’s something on the line. Both the Ravens (8-8) and Steelers (8-7-1) actually have playoff-clinching scenarios, but neither fan base should get their hopes up.
Clinching scenarios for Steelers vs. Ravens
The Steelers enter Week 18 with a 6% chance of reaching the postseason, per FiveThirtyEight.
That sounds bad until you compare it to the Ravens’ odds of making the playoffs: 2%. Both need a win and some help. If either gets in, it’ll be as the AFC’s seventh seed.
How the Steelers can make the playoffs
The Steelers’ Week 17 win over the Browns guaranteed Mike Tomlin’s 15th straight non-losing season.
But when asked this week if that accomplishment was meaningful, Tomlin responded: “Not as I sit here today, and I say that humbly. Our agenda this year is to get into [the] single-elimination tournament and then pit our skills against others in that single-elimination tournament in an effort to win the world championship. That’s our mentality every year. And so, with that mentality, it’s just certain hardware that you expect to pick up along the way. And if you don’t, you’d be seriously disappointed. That’s just an expectation that we have here in Pittsburgh.”
Win or lose Sunday, Tomlin will probably be disappointed. There are just two scenarios in which the Steelers make the playoffs.
They’d get in with a:
- Win, a Colts loss, and a Raiders loss or
- Win, a Colts loss, and a Chargers loss
How the Ravens can make the playoffs
The Ravens have a minus-2-point differential but need a miracle to qualify for the playoffs. The Raiders have a minus-68-point differential and could conceivably get in with a tie. In other words, life isn’t fair.
As for that Ravens’ miracle scenario? They’d sneak in as a Wild Card entry with a:
- Win, a Colts loss, Chargers loss, and a Dolphins loss/tie
How the Steelers got here
The Steelers largely owe their faint playoff hopes to a four-game winning streak that ran from early October through early November. Aside from that, they’ve won just four times in 12 games.
Week 1: Steelers 23, Bills 16
Week 2: Raiders 26, Steelers 17
Week 3: Bengals 24, Steelers 10
Week 4: Packers 27, Steelers 17
Week 5: Steelers 27, Broncos 19
Week 6: Steelers 23, Seahawks 20
Week 7: Bye
Week 8: Steelers 15, Browns 10
Week 9: Steelers 29, Bears 27
Week 10: Steelers 16, Lions 16
Week 11: Chargers 41, Steelers 37
Week 12: Bengals 41, Steelers 10
Week 13: Steelers 20, Ravens 19
Week 14: Vikings 36, Steelers 28
Week 15: Steelers 19, Titans 13
Week 16: Chiefs 36, Steelers 10
Week 17: Steelers 26, Browns 14
Week 18: Steelers vs. Ravens
How the Ravens got here
The Ravens have gone from a potential No. 1 seed to the longest of playoff long shots in the course of a month. They have lost their last five games by a total of 25 points, including a 20-point drubbing at the hands of the Bengals.
Week 1: Raiders 33, Ravens 27
Week 2: Ravens 36, Chiefs 35
Week 3: Ravens 19, Lions 17
Week 4: Ravens 23, Broncos 7
Week 5: Ravens 31, Colts 25
Week 6: Ravens 34, Chargers 6
Week 7: Bengals 41, Ravens 17
Week 8: Bye
Week 9: Ravens 34, Vikings 31
Week 10: Dolphins 22, Ravens 10
Week 11: Bears 16, Ravens 13
Week 12: Browns 16, Ravens 10
Week 13: Steelers 20, Ravens 19
Week 14: Browns 24, Ravens 22
Week 15: Packers 31, Ravens 30
Week 16: Bengals 41, Ravens 21
Week 17: Rams 20, Ravens 19
Week 18: Steelers vs. Ravens