14. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
Now having lost four games in a row to close out the 2024 NFL Season, the Pittsburgh Steelers may end up being the sixth seed in the AFC when Week 18 is totally over. The Los Angeles Chargers would have to beat the Las Vegas Raiders to earn that fifth seed, so that would then drop the Steelers to the sixth seed. It seems as if their honeymoon with Russell Wilson was short lived.
Wilson began his Steelers' tenure with some nice play, but the most predictable thing then happened - the Steelers lost to good teams and Russell Wilson shrunk when it mattered most. If you're the Steelers, you have absolutely no direction with the QB room for 2025, and all the offseason hype about just how amazing Wilson and Justin Fields were going to be is now all gone.
The Steelers did again manage to finish with a winning record, which extends Mike Tomlin's impressive feat, but is the standard in Pittsburgh winning seasons or Super Bowls? Because if you ask me, this team is absolutely not trying to win a Super Bowl.
13. Houston Texans (10-7)
With a win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 18, the Houston Texans get the 'stink' out and finally win a game. This is what the Texans needed to do, and they had already come into this game with the no. 4 seed in the AFC. The team did trot out their starters for part of this game and clearly wanted to be intentional with this game.
Houston is locked into that fourth seed in the AFC, and for the second year in a row, will get to host a playoff game. The fifth seed will have either gone to the Pittsburgh Steelers or Las Vegas Raiders at the time you are reading this on Monday. The Texans are still in a great spot for the long-term, but do need to tweak their offensive line this coming offseson, as it's been their undoing in 2024.
There is also something to be said about CJ Stroud's regression in 2024...
Denver is really coming together nicely on offense and have a top-5 defense to boot. I am not sure the Broncos can go into Buffalo and win, but I guess you never know. Denver rises in our final power rankings of the regular season.