Pittsburghcentric Playoff Scenarios

There are six games that matter next week, regarding the AFC playoff picture.

Jacksonville* @ Cleveland
Kansas City @ Denver*
Baltimore* @ Oakland
Pittsburgh* @ Miami*
Cincinnati @ NY Jets*
New England @ Houston*

*Seven of those teams are still vying for the wildcard. Play with this thing. You'll have more fun with it than reading all the scenarios here. That said, here are some combos:

-Pittsburgh & Houston - Everyone loses but those two teams, regardless of Jacksonville.
-Pittsburgh & Jacksonville - Everyone loses but those two teams.
-Pittsburgh & Baltimore - New York and Houston lose, Pittsburgh and Baltimore win, regardless of Denver and Jacksonville.
-Pittsburgh & Denver - Everyone loses but Pittsburgh, regardless of Denver; or everyone loses but Pittsburgh and Denver, regardless of Jacksonville.
-Pittsburgh & New York - Houston, Baltimore lose, Pittsburgh and NY win, regardless everyone else.

So. The common thread is Houston. Them losing is important, as 4 out of 5 scenarios depend on it. Jacksonville and Miami are both up to their knees in bad odds, and thus neither should have much effect on us (unless of course one of them happens to be our opponent on Sunday).

I'd say rooting for either the Houston/Baltimore or Houston/New York loss combos are our best bets, but please, play around with the scenario generator-- see if you can find something more reasonable.

As for which combo is more likely...

Houston is up against New England, who clinched their division today. If recent history tells us anything, it's that Belichick is willing to play Brady even after clinching (and I'm not just talking about the 16-0 season). That's kind of a moot point, as we need the Texans to lose in both scenarios.

New York plays Cincinnati, and I don't see any reason for Marvin Lewis to play Carson Palmer. A team never looks to lose, but the Bengals aren't going to be shedding any tears should we not make the playoffs because their backups got beat by the Jets.

Baltimore takes on Oakland. Oakland, who beat the Eagles, Bengals, Steelers, Chiefs and Broncos. Oakland, who lost to the Chargers, Texans, Giants, Jets, Cowboys, REDSKINS, BROWNS, Chiefs and Broncos. This is a team that gets absolutely blown out of the water in terms of total yardage, yet manages to win games. This is a team with no offensive identity (they're now on their third QB of the year; our old friend, Charlie Frye) and no ability to stop the run. Baltimore has made their bones this year by beating down shit teams, and not taking these games for granted. But. Stranger things have happened?