The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team who many would consider fortunate for a lot of reasons. Some would talk about their six Super Bowl championships. Some would talk about the consistency they’ve had at the head coaching position since 1969. Others would simply talk about how the team is always competitive and “in the mix” at the end of the season.

Those are all valid reasons for people to talk about the Steelers good fortune, but there are more recent situations which have taken place that could also be logged under the same “good fortune” label. And that would be how despite the team losing back-to-back games to teams entering the contest with two wins, they still find themselves in the thick of the AFC Playoff race.

Yes, even after such putrid play the past week, two losses in five days, the Steelers are still alive and well.

How, you might ask? Well, two outcomes on Sunday had a huge impact on the team remaining in the Top 7 of the AFC Playoff Picture. Those outcomes were:

• Indianapolis Colts lose to Cincinnati Bengals
• Houston Texans lose to the New York Jets

The Steelers now find themselves in the midst of a throng of 7-6 teams all looking at tie breakers to jockey for playoff positioning with four weeks remaining in the regular season.

Those six 7-6 teams are as follows:

Pittsburgh Steelers
Indianapolis Colts
Denver Broncos
Buffalo Bills
Houston Texans
Cincinnati Bengals

Obviously, these six teams will start to distance themselves from the pack it the coming weeks. As two examples, the Colts play the Steelers at home Sunday, and the following week the Steelers host the Bengals. The outcome of just those two contests absolutely will impact the race for the Wild Card spots in the AFC Playoffs.

If there was a tie between two, or more, teams, here is how it is situated by the NFL:

To Break A Tie For The Wild-Card Team

If it is necessary to break ties to determine the three Wild-Card clubs from each conference, the following steps will be taken.
If the tied clubs are from the same division, apply division tiebreaker.
If the tied clubs are from different divisions, apply the following steps.

Two Clubs

Head-to-head, if applicable.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
Strength of victory in all games.
Strength of schedule in all games.
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.
Best net points in conference games.
Best net points in all games.
Best net touchdowns in all games.
Coin toss.

Three or More Clubs

(Note: If two clubs remain tied after one-or-more clubs are eliminated during any step, tiebreaker restarts at Step 1 of two-club format. If three clubs remain tied after a fourth club is eliminated during any step, tiebreaker restarts at Step 2 of three-club format.)

Apply division tiebreaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tiebreaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants.

Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)
Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.
Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.
Strength of victory in all games.
Strength of schedule in all games.
Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.
Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.
Best net points in conference games.
Best net points in all games.
Best net touchdowns in all games.
Coin toss

Long story short, the Steelers still have life. Most would suggest they are on life support, but they still have a pulse. Can the team turn it around and make a playoff push? We’ll see how they respond from their recent failures in Week 15 with a trip to Indianapolis. Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the team.