Los Angeles Chargers: Ranking potential playoff matchups by danger
By Jason Reed
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
There is a pretty good chance that the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t even make the playoffs. In fact, the Steelers need everything to go their way in Week 17 in order to sneak in. Common sense would say that a team that barely snuck in does not pose much of a threat, however, they still have the best receiving corps in a league and a quarterback that has won two Super Bowls.
The defense is a bit suspect but the Steelers have the firepower to keep up in any offensive slugfest. Plus, if the Steelers are the fourth seed and the Chargers are the fifth seed then the Chargers would have to head to Pittsburgh.
The Chargers already beat the Steelers in primetime in Pittsburgh, however, it is still a very hard place to win — especially in January.
The Steelers need the Cleveland Browns to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in order to even have a chance. If that happens, the Steelers can seal a postseason appearance with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals, which shouldn’t be particularly hard.
Because of the defensive woes and the Steelers’ tendency to make boneheaded mistakes, I would not consider them a top-three team in the AFC. However, I certainly wouldn’t feel 100 percent confident going into a road game in Pittsburgh; who would be?