With the Ravens on their tail, the Steelers found themselves fans of a surprising adversary on their flight home from Detroit. After defeating the Lions, they knew that a Baltimore loss would allow them to clinch the AFC North next week. With either a Steelers win or tie or a Ravens loss or tie in Week 17, Pittsburgh would be playoff bound, and as the host of a Wild Card game on top of that.
“We were all watching the [Ravens and Patriots] game”, Steelers RT Troy Fautanu admitted, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We were Patriots fans [Sunday] night. Obviously, they came out with the win, but we’re not hoping or praying that the Ravens lost. We’ve got to go out there and take care of business in Cleveland”.
The Steelers got the help they needed from the Patriots, who defeated the Ravens with a thrilling comeback. Pittsburgh remains one of only three teams to beat New England this season, though the AFC East leaders have looked more vulnerable of late.
The Ravens play before the Steelers in Week 17, so you know players will be fans this weekend. On Saturday, Baltimore travels to Green Bay to play the Packers. If the Ravens lose, the Steelers will win the AFC North.
Then they will have to decide how they want to handle the final two games of the season, with very little to play for. While the third seed is still in play, it would require the Texans losing to or tying the Chargers and losing to the Colts, and the Jaguars losing to the Colts and Titans. In other words, it’s pretty unlikely, as cool as it is to see Philip Rivers playing again. The Steelers will in all likelihood have to settle for the fourth seed, though the Ravens would be watching from home.
Since starting the season 1-5, the Ravens have gone on a five-game winning streak and now have lost three of their past four games, including a loss to the Steelers. The two teams play in Week 18, but there’s a fair chance that it won’t matter.
In order for the AFC North to be up for grabs in Week 18, the Steelers need to lose to the Browns and the Ravens need to beat the Packers. It’s certainly possible, and stranger things have happened, but trends favor a meaningless finale. While Packers QB Jordan Love is in the concussion protocol, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s status is also uncertain.
So will the Steelers be Packers fans this week in the hopes that they beat the Ravens? It doesn’t hurt that Aaron Rodgers is their quarterback now and for whom they have all the respect in the world. They couldn’t get Rodgers a win over his former team earlier this season, but Green Bay could help give the team a break ahead of a potential postseason run.
