The AFC North has seen better days. The same goes for the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens rivalry.
For many seasons, the AFC North was one of the best divisions in the NFL. That’s not the case this season. Every other division has at least two teams with a record over .500. The AFC North does not. Barring a tie, that will change on Sunday when the 6-6 Ravens take on the 6-6 Steelers. Even though the 4-8 Cincinnati Bengals are somehow not dead in the game yet, it will also go a long way in determining who gets a playoff spot from the AFC North.
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The Ravens are off to a 1-5 start to the season, but last week’s 32-14 loss to the Bengals showed they still have plenty of issues that could hinder their playoff run. The Steelers have their issues, too. They struggled on both ends of the floor and lost 26-7 to the Bills, leading some home fans to start chanting for coach Mike Tomlin to be fired. The Steelers and Ravens have been battling for AFC supremacy for years, and now they’re just looking to maintain their status with a win.
Baltimore is still favored to win the division, with a DVOA projection of 51.1%, while the Steelers are favored at 42.4%. The Steelers can turn those odds around and win in Baltimore. According to NFL.com, the Steelers enter the playoffs with a winning percentage of 61% and a losing record of 16%. The Ravens have an 81% chance of winning and a 36% chance of losing. The two teams have similar strengths in the upcoming schedule. If either team can sweep the other, the division will likely be decided. They will face off again in Week 18 in Pittsburgh.
Someone has to win the worst division in the NFL this season. We’ll be closer to the answer after Sunday’s matchup between the two teams tied for first place.
(Yahoo Sports/Tyler William)
Here are the other Week 14 games with the biggest playoff implications:
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Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions
Entering Week 14, neither team has made the playoffs. The winner of this Thursday night’s game is not guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. But with four weeks to go, the losers will be in a bit of a bad shape.
It feels a bit like the elimination game in the NFC screen. 6-5-1 The Cowboys are back in the game, but with such a slow start, they can’t afford to drop back to .500. They are ninth in the NFC playoffs, just 7-6 ahead of the 10th-place Panthers.
The Lions’ exit from the current playoff picture in December was shocking. But they were just 7-5. Another loss, especially to another wild-card contender, would be a devastating blow.
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Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Colts may have needed this win coming off a 7-1 start. They’re tied with the Jaguars at 8-4 for first place in the division, and the Texans clawed back at 7-5. The Colts’ remaining schedule after this game: against the Seahawks, against the 49ers, against the Jaguars, against the Texans. This is a brutal process. Being one game behind the Jaguars with a lot of tough games left is not a good thing for their playoff hopes.
The Jaguars have quietly climbed four games above .500 and won three straight. A win on Sunday would increase their chances of making the playoffs to 96 percent, according to NFL.com.
Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers
The Bears are currently the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and a win in Green Bay would show they can stay there. The 8-3-1 Packers are right on the heels of the 9-3 Bears, and the Packers’ early-season tie with Dallas eliminates a lot of the math regarding the tiebreaker (which may work in Chicago’s favor, since they have two division losses while the Packers have none). Chicago will face Green Bay in its final game on Sunday and again in Week 16 against the Packers. A loss wouldn’t be a terrible blow to the Bears’ chances of winning the division title, as they’ll have a rematch at home, but a win would put them ahead of the Packers with just four games remaining.
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Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Chiefs haters, this is an important game. If the Chiefs lose, their chances of making the playoffs drop to 11 percent, according to NFL.com. But a victory boosted their approval rating to 50%. A few weeks ago, this game looked like a victory for the Chiefs, but the Texans have gotten hot. Houston’s defense has always been the best in the NFL. The Texans have won four straight and are in the AFC South main game and wild-card round. A loss here would hurt both teams, especially in the wild-card round, as they would hand the head-to-head tiebreaker to Kansas City. They are also two games behind the winner of the Colts-Jaguars game.