2. Pittsburgh Steelers
Of all the AFC Playoff contenders, the Steelers, somehow, are the least likely to make the playoffs; that’s good news for the Denver Broncos.
I truly believe that the Steelers, at their best, may be the most dangerous team in the AFC. The issue, though, is that their best can seemingly come and go at any given time.
After scoring 30-plus points in six straight games, winning five of them, the Steelers finally put their playoff hopes back in their hands following their comeback victory over the Broncos. All they had to do was win out against two teams with a combined record of 7-21, and they’d be in.
But then the Baltimore Ravens happened.
Against a Ravens offense led by guys like Ryan Mallett, Javorius Allen and Kamar Aiken, Baltimore took down their hated rivals and brought Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes to a screeching halt. Now, the Steelers have to hope and pray that Rex Ryan can get his revenge on the New York Jets with a victory in Week 17.
Still, if things do end up going Pittsburgh’s way, and they do end up sneaking into the playoffs, they’re just about the last team I’d want to see the Broncos playing. As we saw two weeks ago, that offense may just be the one unit in the NFL capable of putting a beatdown on this Denver defense, and I’m not sure the Broncos offense is capable of keeping up.
Not to mention, Ben Roethlisberger is a two-time Super Bowl champion who knows what it takes to win in January; I can’t say the same for Brock Osweiler.
HOW THEY MEET: (1) Steelers win, Bengals win, Broncos lose, Jets lose and Chiefs lose, giving Denver the No. 3 seed and the Steelers the No. 6 seed; (2) Broncos win, Steelers win, Patriots lose and Jets lose, giving Denver the No. 1 seed, and the Steelers beat the Bengals in the Wild Card Round.
