Once an NFL regular season enters its final stages, the league office puts out a list of playoff possibilities, in which it details the various ways teams can clinch either playoff spots, or division titles, or byes in the first round of the playoffs.
Heading into the games of Week 14, in which the Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals at 1 p.m. at Heinz Field, here is the scenario released by the NFL in which they could clinch a playoff spot:
Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot with:
1) PIT win, and a JAX loss or tie, and a NE win or tie, and a MIA loss or tie
There are other scenarios in which the Steelers may clinch a playoff spot if they clinch the strength of victory tiebreaker over certain teams this weekend.
There also had been four other scenarios in which the Steelers could have clinched a playoff spot, but each of those was dependent upon an Indianapolis loss or tie in its game against Tennessee. But the Colts defeated the Titans on Thursday night, 30-28.
Keep in mind that Jacksonville hosts Oakland, New England visits Chicago, Miami is at the New York Jets, and San Diego hosts Kansas City.
