Saturday was a crazy day for the sports world. On the same day that college football debuted its revamped playoff format and Tiger Woods moved toward his first championship in more than five years, two NFL games were played between the four playoff teams. Each game included an AFC team whose playoff standings changed in some way depending on the result of Saturday’s game.
In the first game, the Chiefs won another one-possession game, this one with an impressive 27-19 victory over the Houston Texans. Not only did the Texans lose the game, they suffered an even bigger loss as receiver Tank Dell struggled. severe leg injury That likely ended his season.
In Baltimore, the Ravens put on a spirited performance against the Steelers, snapping a four-game losing streak, but the Steelers have now lost two in a row. Lamar Jackson, who scored his first win against the Steelers in five years, threw three touchdowns as Baltimore won 34-17.
Let’s take a quick look at how both games affected all four games as far as the AFC playoffs are concerned.
texans
Houston (9-6) will host the game in the wild-card round, as it has already won its second straight AFC South title. But Saturday’s loss hurt their chances of earning the No. 3 seed. The Texans finished Saturday the same way they started as the No. 4 seed in the AFC. If the playoffs started today, Houston would host Baltimore in the wild card round.
As mentioned above, the biggest takeaway for Houston on Saturday was Dell’s injury, which clearly (and understandably) upset many of Dell’s teammates, including quarterback CJ Stroud. In addition to likely losing a teammate this year, the Texans will need to find a way to replace Dell’s product. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Texans try to claim former Pro Bowl wideout Diontae Johnson off waivers. Johnson was released by the Ravens on Friday.
chiefs
At 14-1, the Chiefs are one game closer to clinching the coveted No. 1 seed in the AFC with a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The Chiefs can earn the No. 1 seed with a win over the Steelers on Christmas Day or a loss to the Bills on Sunday against the Patriots.
Kansas City didn’t come out of Saturday’s game unscathed. The team’s most notable injury was defensive lineman Chris Jones, who suffered a knee sprain. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said it’s too early to tell whether Jones will miss Wednesday’s game against the Steelers due to injury.
Speaking of injuries, Patrick Mahomes showed virtually no limitations despite his ankle injury. Mahomes showed it early in the game by scoring on a 15-yard touchdown run. Mahomes was as efficient as ever, throwing for 260 yards on 28-of-41 passes, including the game-winning touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy. He found immediate success with Hollywood Brown, who caught five passes in his debut with Kansas City.
ravens
No team benefited more from Saturday’s result than Baltimore. The Ravens were two games behind the Steelers in the AFC North standings eight days ago, but are now tied with Pittsburgh as far as win-loss records go. Baltimore also clinched its sixth playoff berth in seven years on Saturday.
However, Baltimore still technically falls behind Pittsburgh in the standings, based on a 7-3 record against AFC foes. For the Ravens to win the division, they will need to finish better than Pittsburgh, which closes out the year with home games against the Chiefs and Bengals.
But most of all, Saturday’s win was important from a big-picture perspective. Baltimore’s five losses were largely due to self-inflicted injuries. That wasn’t the case Saturday, but the Ravens made big plays in all three phases, including big games from Jackson, Derrick Henry (162 yards on 24 carries), and kicker Justin Tucker, who was on the field. He scored twice. The Ravens also got two big turnovers from their defense and scored 14 points.
steelers
Pittsburgh had a chance to win its first Division I title since 2020 on Saturday. Instead, the Steelers need to win their final two games to take on the North. They play the Chiefs on Wednesday and then host a Bengals team that could play for a playoff spot in Week 18.
It’s clear that Mike Tomlin is in it for the long haul. Tomlin erred on the side of caution for the second straight week in sitting several injury-plagued starters (including No. 1 receiver George Pickens). Wednesday will be the Steelers’ third game in 11 days. Tomlin wants to win, but he also wants to make sure his team is as healthy as possible at the end of this challenge.
That idea is more than understandable. The Steelers started 11-0 in 2020, but played three games in 12 days and lost five of their last six (including a wild-card loss to the Browns). This offseason, Steelers president Art Rooney II made it clear that Pittsburgh’s eight-year playoff drought needed to end. Tomlin is doing what he can now to make sure that happens, even if it comes at the cost of his team winning.
It makes sense not to play players dealing with injuries, but it doesn’t make sense that Najee Harris and Jalen Warren combined for 21 carries against Baltimore. Despite gaining 90 yards and averaging 4.3 yards per carry, Harris and Warren took a backseat, with Russell Wilson putting the ball in the air 33 times. Wilson had some chances, but made his biggest mistake of the game on Marlon Humphrey’s pick-six, giving Baltimore a 31-17 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh had a clear identity through the first six games of the season with Justin Fields under center. At the time, the secret to the Steelers’ success was running the ball, not turning the ball over, and playing sound defense. The Steelers should now consider rethinking that formula starting with their Christmas matchup against the Chiefs.
