Steelers playoff picture: How Pittsburgh can clinch AFC North title in Week 18

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Steelers playoff picture: How Pittsburgh can clinch AFC North title in Week 18 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't won the AFC North division title since 2020. The team still has unfinished business for 2025 in an attempt to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

Mike Tomlin's team (9-7) has clinched another winning season under their coach, who has never finished below .500. But getting into the tournament with the first season of Aaron Rodgers at quarterback comes down to Week 18's Sunday night home game (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock) vs. the archrival Ravens.

Here's a look at what the Steelers need to do to make that happen:

MORE WEEK 18 NFL:

NFL playoff bracket 2026

Here's a look at the current potential initial matchups for this year's playoffs:

Steelers playoff picture

The Steelers hold the No. 4 seed (9-7) and the division lead by one game over the Ravens (8-8). The Steelers also won the first matchup in Baltimore to hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Both teams have a 3-2 division record going into Week 18. There is no way for the Steelers to earn a wild-card berth, with the Texans, Chargers and Bills already all having 11 wins.

Going into Week 18, the AFC North champion is locked for the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Steelers or Ravens will host a home game vs. the No. 5 seed, which will be either the AFC South runners-up — for now the second-place Texans — or the Chargers or Bills.

Seed	Team	Record
1	Denver Broncos*	13-3
2	New England Patriots*	13-3
3	Jacksonville Jaguars*	12-4
4	Pittsburgh Steelers	9-7
5	Houston Texans*	11-5
6	Los Angeles Chargers*	11-5
7	Buffalo Bills*	11-5
8	Indianapolis Colts - eliminated	8-8
9	Baltimore Ravens	8-8
10	Miami Dolphins - eliminated	7-9
11	Cincinnati Bengals - eliminated	6-10
12	Kansas City Chiefs - eliminated	6-10
13	Cleveland Browns - eliminated	4-12
14	Tennessee Titans - eliminated	3-13
15	New York Jets - eliminated	3-13
16	Las Vegas Raiders - eliminated	2-14

*=clinched playoff spot

AFC North standings

Rank	Team	Record
1	Pittsburgh Steelers	9-7
2	Baltimore Ravens	8-8
3	Cincinnati Bengals	6-10
4	Cleveland Browns	4-12

The Steelers and Ravens have ensured that a team with a non-losing record will take the division as the weakest AFC playoff team in 2025.

Steelers clinching scenarios

The Steelers win the AFC North with a win that will improve them to 10-7, then finishing two games ahead of the 8-9 Ravens. If the Steelers manage a tie, they also would hold the lead at 9-7-1 for them vs. 8-8-1 for the Ravens.

If the Steelers beat the Ravens, they would also have the season head-to-head sweep plus a better division record (4-2 vs. 3-3), a thorough winning of the division.

The Steelers, however, cannot make the playoffs with a loss to drop to 9-8 and the Ravens pulling even. Then the Ravens would earn the season split and win the North with the better division record (4-2 vs. 3-3).

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