There were plenty of Week 17 scenarios where the Steelers could have kept their playoff hopes alive heading into Week 18.

Of the many scenarios that existed, Pittsburgh winning in Seattle–a city it hadn’t walked away with a victory in since 1983 (and that was the only time it ever happened)–was perhaps near the bottom in terms of realistic outcomes.

I don’t know about you, but I had a demoralized feeling as Sunday’s 4 p.m. kickoff between the Steelers and Seahawks at Lumen Field drew closer.

The Browns defeated the Jets on Thursday Night Football. The Bills survived the lowly Patriots on Sunday afternoon. The Jaguars blew out the even lower Panthers. The Colts outlasted the Raiders. The Texans blew out the Titans.

Why bother even playing at that point? Oh, right, because the Steelers could still stay alive by taking care of their own business.

And they did. It was a game that reminded me a lot of the 24-17 victory in Los Angeles way back in October. At least in the back-and-forth nature, anyway. The difference between Sunday’s game and the one against the Rams back on October 22 was the running attack. It was dominant. It hasn’t looked quite that good in a while. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren combined to rush for 197 of the team’s 202 yards on the day. It also helped that Mason Rudolph again kept the defense honest by stretching the field a bit and hitting on a few big plays of his own.

I’m not going to get too deep into the analysis here. That is always covered exceptionally well on this site. But I do like how Pittsburgh went into a tough place to play and took it to an opponent that also had its postseason life on the line. I did mention that it was a back-and-forth affair, and that certainly was the case in terms of the scoring, but it sure did feel like the Steelers were in command from beginning to end.

The Steelers possessed the football for 37 minutes and 33 seconds. They outgained the Seahawks, 468 to 369.

Pittsburgh won the turnover battle, 1-0. It only committed two penalties to the Seahawks’ four. The Steelers converted six of 13 third-down opportunities, while Seattle was only successful on three of nine.

The Steelers really didn’t have to worry about what went on in other stadiums in Week 17, and they pushed that anxiety to Week 18 with their victory in Seattle.

They simply had to take care of their own business, and they did.

The good news is that Pittsburgh has more than a realistic shot of things falling its way in the final week. The Steelers travel to M&T Bank Stadium facing a win-and-need-help scenario for the third time since 2019. Overall, it will be the eighth time Pittsburgh has faced this predicament since 2009. The bad news is Pittsburgh has won and gotten the help it needed in just two of the previous seven times. The good news is these things tend to even out over time.

The only realistic scenario for the Steelers to make the playoffs first involves them defeating a Baltimore team that wrapped up the top seed, a bye and homefield advantage in Week 17. This Saturday at 4:30 p.m., the Steelers will face a Ravens squad that figures to be resting a good many of its key starters. If Pittsburgh can win on Saturday, it will then need either the Jaguars to lose to the Titans on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. or the Bills to lose to the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.

Jacksonville will be gunning for its second-straight AFC South title, but it will have to travel to Tennessee. Yes, the Titans are having a horrible year, but the Jaguars had lost four straight before Week 17, and they’re far from the same team that they were earlier in the season.

With a win, the Dolphins, who were blown out at Baltimore on Sunday, will clinch the second seed and their first AFC East title since 2008. If Buffalo wins, it will clinch its fourth-straight division championship. If Pittsburgh defeats the Ravens on Saturday, the Bills only path to the postseason will likely be as a division winner. Why? If the Steelers, Bills and either the Texans or Colts all finish at 10-7, Buffalo would be left out based on conference record.

The good news is the Dolphins will be playing at home, the same place they were last year when they survived the Jets just to advance to the postseason as the seventh seed. Miami’s victory eliminated the Steelers.

Two years ago, a Jaguars win helped the Steelers make the postseason. Maybe a Jacksonville loss will do the same this year.

I give the Steelers a 50/50 shot at making the playoffs.

As I said, these things tend to even out over time.