Hey, wait a second.

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Huh.

The Steelers are three games back of the division lead and an automatic playoff berth. That would normally be insurmountable at this point, but Cincinnati is whatev. The AFC North might be a more open race than we thought. Go ahead and play with the scenarios, early though it may be. If the Steelers win out, which would include victories over Baltimore and in Green Bay, they still have a real shot at the postseason.

Thanks to the general badness of the AFC North on the year, the Steelers could still reasonably squeak in. The Bengals are in the driver's seat, sure, but come on. Who would you rather depend on to crash and burn that the Bengals? The Steelers roll into Cleveland on Sunday. Teams that want to make the playoffs beat the Cleveland Browns. Do the 2013 Steelers and their newound offense have what it takes?

About Brian Schaich

Brian studied computer engineering long enough to know he just wanted to talk about sports all day for a living, so that's what he does.

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