So You're Saying There's A Chance

(Big Ben and his Big Porn Stache)

Sunday proved the cliche "...On Any Given Sunday". The Steelers kept their hopes alive with a 23-20 victory over the hated Ravens. This moved the Steelers into a tie with the Baltimore for the record of 8-7, the tie breaker of which goes to the Ravens unfortunately. But the fact that the Broncos, Jags, and Dolphins all lost, makes it 1:100,000 more times likely we can sneak in the backdoor. Here's how.

1) Pittsburgh win + Houston loss/tie + New York loss/tie

2) Pittsburgh win + Baltimore loss/tie + Denver loss/tie + New York loss/tie

3) Pittsburgh win + Houston loss/tie + Baltimore loss/tie + a bunch of scenarios involving Pittsburgh ties

For #1 - Denver/Baltimore/Pittsburgh are tied @9-7

(5-seed) Baltimore has the divisional tie-break over Pittsburgh; Pitt is eliminated. Baltimore has the HTH tie-break over Denver;

(6-seed) Pittsburgh/Denver are left; Pittsburgh will win HTH against Denver

For #2 - Houston/Pittsburgh are tied @9-7

(5-seed) Houston has the common games tie-break over Pittsburgh;

(6-seed) Pittsburgh

For #3 – New York/Denver/Pittsburgh are tied @9-7

(5-seed) New York & Denver are tied in Conf. Record; Pitt is eliminated; New York will win the Common Games tie-break with Denver;

(6-seed) Pittsburgh/Denver are left; Pittsburgh will win HTH against Denver

Pittsburgh can get the 5-seed with losses by Baltimore, Houston, & New York. It is not included in the scenarios because Scenario #1 includes losses by 2 of the 3. A loss by the third team just improves our seed and is not required.

As you can see, an advanced degree in nuclear and biological quantum mechanics is required to sort this all out. I just hope for a win over Miami and, as much as I still respect him as a player, all the more reason to stuff a sock in J-Peezy.

(Welcome to my newest follower, KW aka Core Contrarian who blogs over at The Core Contrarian's blog site. He is a self-proclaimed "seasoned Midwesterner, a Tigers fan (I won't hold that against him) and enjoys history and symphonic metal, two things I also enjoy. Hopefully I won't dissappoint in my musings.)