The Steelers rallied back on Sunday night to beat the Ravens, but the Patriots couldn’t do the same in Miami on Monday night.
That means the Steelers have clinched a division title while the Patriots still need to put the finishing touches on the AFC East. It also means that the Steelers can wrap up the top seed in the conference with a win and a Jaguars loss in Week 15.
As you’re probably aware, they’ll need to beat the Patriots in order to do that and that ensures that the fireworks Mike Tomlin talked about recently will be in full effect at Heinz Field.
LEADERS
1. Steelers (11-2): The Steelers haven’t beaten the Patriots since 2011, which makes this a fine time to snap that losing streak.
2. Patriots (10-3): They’ll have Rob Gronkowski back as they try to take the tiebreaker over the Steelers.
3. Jaguars (9-4): This is the latest they’ve been in first place in the division since 2009, although clinching before Week 17 will take help from the Titans.
4. Chiefs (7-6): With their losing streak over, the Chiefs now try to solidify control of the AFC West against the Chargers.
5. Titans (8-5): Avoiding a loss to the suddenly competent 49ers is essential to keeping their division title hopes alive.
6. Bills (7-6): Surviving the snow made for more than a pretty picture as it also bumped them ahead of the Ravens and Chargers in the Wild Card hunt.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
7. Ravens (7-6): If they don’t make the playoffs, blowing an 11-point lead on Sunday night will haunt them.
8. Chargers (7-6): The path to the division title is as easy as winning their final three games.
9. Raiders (6-7): Losing to the Chiefs was bad, but the way they lost was even worse.
10. Dolphins (6-7): It’s probably too late to matter, but the Dolphins played their best football of the year this week.
11. Jets (5-8): Josh McCown’s broken hand and a flop in Denver mean it’s officially time to play out the string.
12. Bengals (5-8): A tough loss in Week 13 was followed by a disaster in Week 14.
13. Texans (4-9): What would they have been with better injury luck?
14. Broncos (4-9): They snapped their eight-game losing streak with an impressive defensive performance.
15. Colts (3-10): It was tough to see the Colts in their latest loss thanks to white uniforms in the snow and camouflage wouldn’t be a bad idea in general until the team can find a better formula.
16. Browns (0-13): The Browns came close to a win, but it looks the same as a blowout in the standings.