Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals set for primetime matchup in Week 18
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals will be squaring off in primetime on Saturday night for the Week 18 matchup between the two teams.
The Steelers have already clinched a playoff spot but still have a chance to win the AFC North division while the Bengals continue to fight for a chance to make the postseason. Kickoff on Saturday night is set for 8 p.m.
Pittsburgh has lost their last three games and are looking for a bounce-back win heading into the postseason.
Here are the different scenarios that will impact what playoff seed the Steelers will earn.
How can the Steelers win the AFC North division title?
The Steelers can win the AFC North division title and the AFC’s No. 3 seed in the postseason if they win and the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Cleveland Browns earlier in the day on Saturday.
A win paired with a Baltimore loss would give both teams an 11-6 record and Pittsburgh would win the division based on tiebreakers.
If this were to happen, the Steelers would earn a home game in the playoffs and would host the Los Angeles Chargers. The Steelers beat the Chargers 20-10 in Week 3.
What happens if the Steelers win and Baltimore wins?
If Baltimore beats Cleveland and the Steelers beat the Bengals, Pittsburgh will earn the No. 5 seed in the AFC.
Under this scenario, the Steelers would travel to Houston to face the Texans in the Wild Card round.
The Steelers faced the Texans in the preseason earlier this year, but haven’t faced off in the regular season since early in the 2023 season.
What happens if the Steelers lose to the Bengals?
If the Steelers lose to the Bengals on Saturday night and the Chargers win against the Raiders, Pittsburgh will still make the playoffs, but will fall to the No. 6 seed in the AFC.
Should the Steelers fall to the No. 6 seed, Pittsburgh would then have to travel back to Baltimore to face the Ravens for a third time this season in the Wild Card round.
The Steelers beat the Ravens 18-16 earlier this year in Pittsburgh and lost earlier this month 34-17 on the road in Baltimore.
How can the Bengals make the playoffs?
For Cincinnati to make the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, they need to beat the Steelers on Saturday night and also need the Denver Broncos to lose and the Miami Dolphins to either lose or tie.
If all three of those things happen, Cincinnati will earn the No. 7 seed and travel to Buffalo to face the Bills in the Wild Card round.
Last year, Americans received nearly 30 billion scam robocalls and text messages. Now, leaders in Pennsylvania are taking a new approach to try to crack down on them.
“It’s not just certain audiences that are targeted in this space. It’s really everybody,” said Kate Sullivan, CEO of Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania. “Robocalling is just faster and more aggressive than it’s ever been,” Sullivan said.
The prevalence, exacerbated by artificial intelligence, is why 49 attorneys general across the country sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen its rules to prevent scammers from accessing legitimate phone numbers.
“You have individuals that will purchase maybe 100,000 different phone numbers,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “Those numbers will land somewhere where you have a nefarious actor who will use those numbers to do the robocalls.”
Sunday is part of the Anti-Robocall Task Force, along with West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey. Last year, the coalition sent warning letters to major phone service providers to stop allowing illegal robocalls to reach consumers. Now they’re building on this by going directly to the FCC.
“The consumer matters, and we want to make sure that our constituents, the consumers that are in our states’ voices, are being heard at the highest level as loudly as they can be,” McCuskey said.
Sunday said they want to put more onus on companies to not sell these numbers, and if they do, to have documentation that can be provided to law enforcement so they can trace back and hold the scammers accountable.
KDKA-TV reached out to the FCC for comment. A spokesperson said in part that they “welcome this input from state leaders.” They also mentioned, “The Commission proposed expanding certification and disclosure requirements to all providers that receive telephone numbering resources… to stop scammers from exploiting gaps in the system.”
“Getting ahead of it and more protections for the consumers, I think, does have quite a bit of value,” Sullivan said.
As for what you can do, the BBB and AGs said it’s better to let a robocall go to voicemail. If you decline it, that indicates you’re a real person and may get more calls. Also, make sure to report robocalls to the BBB or the Federal Trade Commission.
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