NFL playoff picture: How the Pittsburgh Steelers can clinch a playoff berth in Week 18

The 2025 NFL regular season comes to a conclusion on Sunday night, with the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

The winner moves onto the playoffs as the winners of the AFC North.

The loser goes home.

Both teams are getting a key player back from injury ahead of this clash of rivals. For the Ravens, quarterback Lamar Jackson is returning to the starting lineup after suffering a back injury against the New England Patriots in Week 16. As for the Steelers, pass rusher T.J. Watt is back after suffering a collapsed lung during a dry needling treatment.

Pittsburgh Steelers playoff berth clinching scenarios

Things are pretty simple on Sunday night for both teams.

The winner of this game takes the AFC North title. Right now, Pittsburgh leads the division with a 9-7 record, and the Steelers won the meeting between the two teams earlier this season. A victory on Sunday night would improve their record to 10-7, and with a season sweep of the Ravens.

However, if the Steelers lose this game, the two teams would finish tied at 9-8. Having split the season series, the division title would shift to the next tiebreaker, which is division record. Entering Week 18 the Steelers have a 3-2 record in division games while the Ravens have a … 3-2 record in division games.

Meaning the winner of Sunday night’s game will improve to 4-2, while the loser will drop to 3-3. That means if the Ravens win, they will have the same overall record as the Steelers, but a better division record would crown them AFC North champions.

The winner of the division will slot into the AFC playoffs as the No. 4 seed and host one of the three Wild Card teams, while the loser will face an offseason filled with questions, starting with their head coach. ESPN’s Adam Schefter posited on The Pat McAfee Show that the losing head coach — either Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh — could end up on his side of the cameras this offseason.

“They will have a big say,” Schefter said of both Tomlin and Harbaugh. “One of them may go in there and say, ‘It’s been a great run. Might be time to go try something else.’ Whether that’s TV or another job somewhere else, like, those things are possible. They’re within the realm of possibility for the wide range of outcomes after Week 18.”

AFC standings entering Week 18

Here are the current AFC standings:

1. Denver Broncos (13-3) – xy
2. New England Patriots (13-3) – xy
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4) – x
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
5. Houston Texans (11-5) – x
6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5) – x
7. Buffalo Bills (11-5) – x
8. Indianapolis Colts (8-8) – e
9. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
10. Miami Dolphins (7-9) – e
11. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10) – e
12. Kansas City Chiefs (6-10) – e
13. Cleveland Browns (4-12) – e
14. Tennessee Titans (3-13) – e
15. New York Jets (3-13) – e
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-14) – e

x – Team has clinched a playoff spot
y – Team has clinched division title
z – Team has clinched No. 1 seed
e – Team has been eliminated from playoff contention

AFC North standings entering Week 18

Here are the AFC North standings as Week 18 begins:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
2. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (6-10) – e
4. Cleveland Browns (4-12) – e