This year’s scenario might boil down to the Steelers needing the Bills to lose at Miami in order to secure the No. 7 seed in the AFC and the third wild-card spot. After defeating Baltimore 16–13 in overtime two years prior, the Steelers appeared to have secured the final position with a 9–7–1 record.
The only outcome that could have eliminated the Steelers from the playoffs was a draw in the Raiders and Chargers game that evening, thanks to the Steelers receiving assistance from other sources that afternoon. And as the Raiders pulled out to a 29-14 lead in the fourth quarter, there was no chance that was going to happen.
Up until it almost did. In the last 4 minutes, the Chargers scored 15 points.
Highsmith remarked, “I would have been (ticked) if they had tied.”
Heyward was yelling at his TV at home.
The two-minute warning signalled the Raiders to enter Chargers territory. Josh Jacobs lost a yard on a run. With a 7-yard gain on his next carry, the Raiders were up to a third-and-four at the Chargers 39. With 38 seconds remaining, Chargers coach Brandon Staley suddenly called a timeout.
After gaining 10 yards on his third possession of the ball, Jacobs made Carlson’s field goal attempt simpler. With two seconds remaining, the Raiders called a timeout. Carlson then punched a 47-yard field goal through the uprights, and the Steelers advanced to the wild-card round the next weekend, travelling to Kansas City.
A tie in the Sunday night game this year wouldn’t be fatal to the The Steelers may be sitting in front of their TVs at home after travelling to Baltimore for the NFL’s 272nd and last regular season game, helplessly observing as two other AFC teams determine their postseason destiny.
The Buffalo Bills are playing the Miami Dolphins this year. The Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders game in 2021 was the catalyst for the Steelers’ unprecedented team pulse rate.
Leave a Reply