PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff hopes are quickly slipping down the drain following another painful loss.

The Steelers dropped another winnable game, continuing a disturbing trend this season in a 31-28 defeat to the Chicago Bears in Week 12. The loss dropped their record to 6-5 with six games remaining in the regular season schedule.

Not only are they one game above .500, their stranglehold on the AFC North has suddenly evaporated. The Baltimore Ravens now have the same overall record as Pittsburgh and a better divisional record, putting them in first place in the division. Unless the Steelers reclaim the North and find a way to clinch the division, their chances of making the playoffs are painfully low.

The Steelers’ road to the playoffs is rather simple. They need to win the AFC North to guarantee a spot in the postseason.

Trying to claim a Wild Card spot is a dangerous and risky proposition for a team that’s failed to win crucial games on multiple occassions this season.

Making matters worse is the loaded AFC playoff picture. Three teams in the AFC South and the AFC West have six wins, while two teams in the AFC East have at least that many victories.

This means securing a Wild Card spot could require 10 wins. Are the Steelers confident they can win four out of their final six games to get to that mark? Otherwise, the only possible way forward is through their own division.

Just like the NFL script writers draw it up and the fans love, the Steelers and Ravens have two matchups scheduled between Weeks 13 and 18 of the regular season. Both games are now absolute must-wins for both teams.

Their first matchup comes in Week 14, when the Steelers travel to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Their second matchup concludes the regular season schedule for both squads, as the Ravens and Steelers could very likely decide the division winner and which one of these organizations participate in the postseason.

The answer to that question, which is a resounding no, is even simpler than the Steelers’ path to the playoffs.

The Steelers have failed on multiple occasions this season. When facing inferior teams, like their Thursday Night Football debacle against the Cincinnati Bengals earlier in the year, they crumble. When they face potential playoff teams, as they did in their Week 10 drubbing by the Los Angeles Chargers, they crumble.

Yes, the team has had great performances this year. They defeated the worst organization in football to open the season despite allowing more than 30 points to the New York Jets. They traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to defeat the Minnesota Vikings. They created six turnovers against the Indianapolis Colts to hand one of the top teams in the league a surprising loss.

Those wins came in Week 1, Week 4 and 9. As great as it is to have your team play well every third or fourth week of the season, it’s a fairly difficult task to make the playoffs and then succeed there at that pace. The team has six weeks left to fix many issues and revive their season, but their playoff chances are dwindling quickly as the 2025 schedule continues.

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