As the 2023 calendar year is coming to an end, so is the 2023 NFL season. With only two weeks remaining, there are approximately eight teams in the mix for the remaining wildcard positions in the American Football Conference. In looking at these teams, one of them will be a division champion from the AFC South which then leaves the other seven fighting over what I currently see as two spots (the Cleveland Browns have a two-game advantage coming into the week over those fighting for the 7th seed, so they are all-but assured a spot with Thursday’s result not even considered). How will it all shake out? We’re just going to have to tune in to find out.

While it is entirely possible that the Buffalo Bills could move up and overtake the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East, or the Kansas City Chiefs could fall out of the AFC West, I’m going to keep those teams in the lead in their division for now. With three teams tied record-wise for the AFC South, I’m putting them all in the mix for the Wild Card as well. Here are the eight teams and where they rank currently in the standings.

When looking at these eight teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers are currently ranked fifth. One of the teams ahead of them will win the AFC South, which means the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to leapfrog to teams in order to get to the playoffs.

Holding the tiebreaker over the Cincinnati Bengals, I’m not even considering them as the Steelers already have them passed. Even though the Buffalo Bills are a game ahead of the Steelers, if they were to falter and lose one of their two remaining games the Steelers hold the tiebreaker over the Bills and would have a higher ranking. Therefore the Steelers need two teams ahead of them to lose in order for them to move into the 7th spot. Those teams are the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, and Houston Texans. Since the Colts play the Texans in Week 18, one of them is bound to lose. In fact, the Steelers only need those two teams to “not win” so a tie would actually benefit them even more.

The bottom line is, the best way for the Steelers to make the postseason is to win their final two games and see how everything else plays out.

Unfortunately, it’s the task of winning their final two games that may be the most daunting.

Looking at the eight teams listed above, here are each of their remaining two games for the 2023 season.

What should be noted first is that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals are the only two teams that have both of their remaining matchups against teams that have a record above .500. Additionally, the Steelers, with their opponents having the best combined record, has to go on the road for both of their matchups. So when looking at these things, the Steelers have the hardest path to win out of the remaining teams in the mix.

Of course, there are other things that could come into play. There is the chance the Ravens may have everything wrapped up before Week 18 and may not want to risk injury with some of their key players. Regardless, the Steelers will have to go into Baltimore and defeat the Ravens to finish up their season.

This is the bed the Pittsburgh Steelers have made and now they must lie in it. By dropping some games in December, the Steelers no longer hold the control of their own destiny. The best chance for the Steelers to make the postseason would be to win their final two contests. If they are able to do so, the Steelers would be the most battle tested over the last two weeks of all the teams vying for the final Wild Card spots which could ultimately give them a boost if they were to make it into the postseason.