The Pittsburgh Steelers' potential 2024 playoff opponents are starting to come into focus, with the list beginning to shrink heading into Week 18. Following the Denver Broncos loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, the Steelers and Broncos can officially no longer meet in the postseason, leaving their potential opponents to four other teams.
Heading into the final week of the season, the Steelers can face either the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans or Los Angeles Chargers. They still have a shot to win the AFC North, earning them a home game in the Wild Card round, but are most-likely to be the away team as a Wild Card team in the AFC.
The Bills can eliminate themselves from facing the Steelers in the postseason by winning in Week 17. A victory over the New York Jets and they officially claim the No. 2 seed, meaning they cannot play the Steelers. Pittsburgh can fall as far as the No. 6 seed, but cannot fall to the last seed in the AFC, who will play the No. 2 seed.
If the Steelers win the AFC North, they can claim the No. 3 seed, which would likely place them against the Chargers. To do so, they need to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals while the Ravens lose to the Cleveland Browns.
To face the Ravens, Pittsburgh would need to lose to the Bengals and have the Chargers beat the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 18. At that point, the Steelers would fall to the No. 6 seed, meeting Baltimore in the opening round.
If the Steelers defeat the Bengals but the Ravens also beat the Browns, Pittsburgh claims the No. 5 seed. If that happens, they are set to face the Texans on the road in Houston.