The Pittsburgh Steelers are listed as 16.5-point betting favourites for their Week 17 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

It’s the most points the Steelers have been favoured by in a game since 1976.

Pittsburgh needs a win to keep its playoff hopes alive. The problem for the Steelers is that even a win (and cover) won’t be enough to get them in to the postseason.

In addition to taking down Cincinnati, Pittsburgh needs one of two things to happen, neither of which is likely.

The Steelers would clinch the AFC North with a win and a Baltimore Ravens loss to the Cleveland Browns.

However, Baltimore is 5-1 since Lamar Jackson took over at quarterback. 

Jackson is coming off his best performance after throwing for a career-high 204 yards in a 22-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. 

After taking the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime earlier in the month and then beating the Chargers, it’s unlikely Jackson and the Ravens stumble versus Cleveland in Week 17.

If Baltimore wins and clinches the AFC North, Pittsburgh’s only shot at the playoffs would be via the Wild Card.

In order for that to transpire, the Steelers would need a win and a tie between the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, there is a 0.3 per cent chance that materializes.

Anything can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL. However, it’s more likely than not that the outcomes don’t break in favour of the black and yellow.

In the end, the players and coaches in Pittsburgh have nobody else but themselves to blame if they miss the postseason. The Steelers can circle back to key losses to the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders in addition to a Week 1 tie with the Cleveland Browns as disappointing performances that ultimately cost them.

After all of the drama that has unfolded in Pittsburgh dating back to the spring, it will be very interesting to see what changes take place this offseason, regardless of what happens on Sunday.

Sticking with the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots and Houston Texans are primed to finish 1, 2, and 3 barring some significant upsets. The Chargers are locked in to the No. 5 spot.

If the Ravens win and clinch the No. 4 seed, then it almost certainly comes down to the Titans versus the Colts on Sunday night for the final Wild Card.

If recent history is any indication, Indy could return to the postseason for the first time since 2014.

Andrew Luck is 10-0 in his career versus Tennessee, which includes a 38-10 win over the Titans back in Week 11.

Tennessee will have home field advantage this time around. However, they might not have a healthy Marcus Mariota under center. Mariota suffered a stringer in his throwing elbow this past Sunday, leaving Blaine Gabbert to lead the Titans to a 25-16 win over the Washington Redskins.

Even though he led Tennessee to wins over Houston and Washington this season, the Titans will look a lot different if they are forced to turn to Gabbert versus Luck and the Colts on Sunday.

In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks have locked up the first five playoff spots.

The Minnesota Vikings can clinch the No. 6 seed with a win over Chicago on Sunday.

If they don’t, things could get interesting.

The Philadelphia Eagles need a Vikings loss combined with a win over the Redskins in order to sneak in to the final NFC Wild Card spot.

With Nick Foles at quarterback, it’s impossible to write off the defending Super Bowl champions just yet.

The Eagles are 8-1 in games that Foles has played from start to finish since Week 15 of last season.

Can Philadelphia sneak in to the postseason with Foles under centre?

The Eagles should beat Washington, and that means the entire city of Philadelphia will be pulling for a Bears upset win over Minnesota in order to have a shot.

This is where things get interesting.

With Chicago seemingly destined for the NFC’s No. 3 seed barring a Rams loss to the San Francisco 49ers, will the Bears let their foot off the gas this Sunday?

Technically, they still have something to play for.

A loss to the Vikings would set up an NFC Wild Card playoff rematch in which Chicago would host Minnesota the following weekend.

A win over the Vikings could be enough to help the Eagles leapfrog Minnesota for that final playoff spot, which would mean the Bears host Philadelphia on Wild Card weekend.

Which is the better matchup for Chicago? The Vikings or the Eagles?

Again, anything can happen on any given Sunday.

The fact that the Bears still have a stake in determining their NFC Wild Card round opponents makes things just a little more interesting heading in to Week 17.