The Pittsburgh Steelers AFC North race remains close, and heading into their Week 15 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, the pressure remains on them to keep winning.
The Steelers are the last team to play in Week 15, facing the Dolphins on Monday Night Football. Before they take the field, every other team played, including the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, who squared off at Paycor Stadium with plenty of playoff implications on the line.
Baltimore won 24-0.
For the Ravens, a win decided they remain in the AFC North hunt, moving to 7-7 on the year with three games remaining. One of those games, Week 18, is against the Steelers.
For the Bengals, the loss eliminated them from the playoffs, ending their season early. They move to 4-10 on the year.
Steelers Must Beat the Dolphins
The Steelers are up next, and must win. A defeat of the Dolphins at Acrisure Stadium would keep them in front of the Ravens for the divisional title. They’d move to 8-6 on the season with games against the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and Ravens remaining.
If they lose, things get interesting. They’d remain in first place in the AFC North because of the head-to-head victory over the Ravens in Week 14, but they’d now need to, at minimum, keep pace with Baltimore until Week 18.
Baltimore’s remaining schedule includes a home game against the New England Patriots and a trip to the Green Bay Packers. If they beat both teams, Pittsburgh would need to defeat the 8-5 Lions and their rivals, the Browns.
Then, both the Steelers and Ravens would head into the final regular season game of the season with the winner of their battle determining the AFC North.
However, all of this gets easier with a win over the Dolphins. If the Steelers defeat Miami at home in Week 15, they move to 8-6 on the season and can put the AFC North away early – with some help.
A win in Week 15 allows Pittsburgh to carry momentum into Week 16 and 17. If they were to defeat both the Lions and Browns, and Baltimore lost to either New England or Green Bay, the Steelers would claim the division before they faced again in Week 18.
The Steelers will be doing this all without T.J. Watt, who is ruled out for Week 15 after undergoing lung surgery. The team is 1-11 all time without Watt in their lineup.
