Despite the Struggles; the Steelers Still Control Their Fate in the AFC North

Sitting at 4-5 after a 4-1 start is nowhere near where the 2016 Steelers felt they would be, failing to win a game in the last month by the time they take the field in Cleveland on Sunday.

Despite being on the outside looking in at the playoffs right now, the Steelers actually still sit in the best position to win the AFC North, already winning a division game (beating the Bengals in week 2), and having two upcoming games against the 0-10 Browns.

Today we take a look at the rest of the 2016 slate, and how the Steelers control their destiny to win the AFC North and host a playoff game.

November 20th at Cleveland (0-10)
November 24th at Indianapolis (4-5)
December 4th vs New York Giants (6-3)
December 11th at Buffalo (4-5)
December 18th at Cincinnati SNF (3-5-1)
December 25th vs Baltimore (5-4)
January 1st vs Cleveland (0-10)

The only team left on the Steelers schedule that is more than one game over .500 is New York, and the Steelers have that game at Heinz Field, and also will have a mini-bye going into it as it comes after they play on Thanksgiving against the Colts.

Figure they beat the Browns twice, and win their other two home games, and right there is eight wins, leaving the games at Indy, Buffalo and Cincinnati as the key games in the schedule.

Of those three games, beating Cincinnati since it’s a division game is the most important, as it will give them the advantage when it comes to divisional record.

The Ravens are 3-0 in the division, with two of those wins coming against the Browns, who the Steelers should feast on twice over the last month. If the Steelers are going to comeback and win the division, beating the Ravens on Christmas Day is a must.

Baltimore still has a daunting task ahead of them to hang on to the division, as they play Cincinnati twice, at the Cowboys, at the Patriots, and have a home game against the Eagles.

Their other two games would be at the Steelers and at home for the Dolphins.

So as crazy as it sounds after this latest string of losses, if the Steelers can right the ship and win 5 to 7 of their final games, the team still has a great shot to be a playoff team in 2016, and then anything can happen.