Bumped from earlier on Sunday. Good breakdown here, though I must admit I haven't had the opportunity to confirm all of the myriad variables presented here. Even if one or two things might be off base, which I don't necessarily think is the case, what follows is still a valuable post to familiarize yourself with what the AFC Playoff Picture looks like with regards to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'll be sharing my take on who will edge out the rest of the pack for a coveted playoff berth, and who will fall short, but this helps me get some of the scenarios in play out there for your perusal and consideration beforehand. Many thanks to the author for taking the time to research and write. - Michael B.-

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The scenarios will all require that the Steelers beat the Browns & the Bengals lose to the Texans. This will clinch 1st or 2nd in the division.

The other games that matter are Oakland-Green Bay; Tennessee-New Orleans; New York Jets-Kansas City.

With a Steelers win, we will be 10-3 (8-3 in the conference).

If the Jets lose, they will be 7-6 (5-6)

If the Titans lose, they will be 7-6 (5-4)

If the Raiders lose, they will be 7-6 (5-5)

It's also important to point out that if Houston and Tennessee tie, Houston will win their division over the Titans due to already clinching at least a tie for Head-to-Head and Division Record & clinching a better Common Games record.

It's also important to point out that if Denver and Oakland tie, Denver will win their division over the Raiders due to already clinching at least a tie for Head-to-Head and Division Record & clinching a better Common Games record.

Tie-break steps outside of the division are 1) Head-to-Head or Head-to-Head Sweep if more than 2 teams are involved & 2) Conference Record.

This all means that in a worse-case scenario, the Steelers would have a better conference record (8-4) than the other teams that could finish at 10-6 who are contending for the wild-card spots. The clinching scenario will probably be:

1) Steelers Win + Bengals Loss + either:

a) Jets Loss + Titans Loss

b) Jets Loss + Raiders Loss

c) Titans Loss + Raiders Loss

12/6 Final clinching scenario:

Pittsburgh can clinch a playoff berth with:
1) WIN + CIN loss + NYJ loss + TEN loss
2) WIN + CIN loss + TEN loss + OAK loss + DEN loss
3) WIN + CIN loss + NYJ loss + OAK loss + DEN loss