There is only one week left in the NFL season, and the play-off picture is becoming clearer.  While still much can change, here’s a look at the teams most likely to take the trip to Heinz Field on divisional weekend.

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars – The Jags are locked into the three seed now, and seem destined for another trip to Pittsburgh.  They are looking at a pretty winnable home wild card game against either Baltimore or the free-falling Titans.  The Chargers could sneak in ahead of Tennessee and give the Jags a run for their money.  Remember the Steelers will get the highest seed left from the wild card round, so prepare yourselves for a heavy dose of Leonard Fournette  and that very good Jacksonville defense.
  2.   Kansas City Chiefs – If the Jaguars were to be upset, the Chiefs would be next in line to face the Steelers.  Pittsburgh fans would love to see this given how the Steelers have dominated this matchup recently.  The Chiefs really have had a rollercoaster of a season.  They started out looking like world beaters at 5-0, fell apart mid-season, and now are red-hot again.  In either scenario, Pittsburgh would be facing a sub-par quarterback in their first play-off game.
  3. Baltimore Ravens – These two teams can never quite get away from each other.  The Ravens have just about locked up the 5th seed at this point.  If they were to pull an upset in the first round,  and there was also an upset in the other AFC wild card game, we would be treated to round three of this great rivalry.  It’s an unlikely scenario, but not impossible. Besides New England and Pittsburgh, the AFC is really a complete toss-up.  It’s not hard to imagine Blake Bortles and Alex Smith blowing play-off games now is it?
  4. Tennessee Titans –  Believe it or not the Titans could still end up with the fifth seed in the AFC.  Despite losing 4 of their last 6 (wins over terrible teams like the Colts and Texans), they would still earn the 5th spot with a win and a Baltimore loss.  To face the Steelers in divisional round, they’d still need Jacksonville to lose as well.  This is the least likely, but most desirable matchup for Pittsburgh.  The Titans are a bad football team who does not deserve to be in the post-season.  If not for an extremely weak AFC, they would not be moving on in 2017.