I'm also likely to throw in the Gambling and Tennessee Titans, who does function as the likely winners should either of the first two stumble.

Houston Texans

Houston seems to be the most likely first test for that Steelers, and there's some history here. The Texans beat the Steelers long ago in Week 4 with a score of 17-10. Still, you have to think that no matter who Houston gets for their quarterback that the Steelers are designed for Houston now.

The Pittsburgh offense has rounded into a dangerous unit, and the Houston defense will not have pass rush guru Mario WilliamsBen Roethlisberger Jersey now. He was the main difference in Week 4.

Oakland Raiders

This is door No. 2 for that Steelers. The Raiders complement very well with Pittsburgh. Offensively, the Raiders perform a lot of running, something the Steelers haven't always defended now this season and therefore are a good passing team having a quarterback (Carson Palmer) that knows Pittsburgh well.

Defensively, the Raiders boast a decent secondary with speedy corners, but Ben Roethlisberger and company should be able to handle that. This game could end up being very difficult if it happens, but the Steelers really are a more complete team than the Raiders and may probably dominate the time enough to win.

Here are our other two hopefuls.

Denver Broncos

Whether or not Tim Tebow is setting offense back 70 years, he's winning football games. That's everything really matters. He's also got the Broncos believing in themselves. That may be dangerous. Denver has a talented defense too that gets after quarterbacks and shuts runners.

More than Tebow, that's winning Denver games. This has been a nightmare matchup for everybody lately, however i think if any defensvie coach Hines Ward Jersey can figure Tebow out, it might be Dick LeBeau, especially given the team's pass rush.

Tennessee Titans

The Steelers thrashed the Titans in Week 5, but Tennessee has come a long way since. Chris Johnson is starting to get on track finally, and also the Titans have found ways to win despite a dropoff in production using their receiver-less passing attack. Still, you'd have to think the Steelers could repeat at least part of their Week 5 performance to unseat the Titans.

The common thread I find in the wild-card matches would be that the Steelers as a 12-4 Wild CardBen Roethlisberger Jersey are superior to any mixture of teams that could grab the fourth seed or even the third seed. I don't see a problem with them during this round.

Now we have to throw in more variables. During my original predictions, the Cincinnati Bengals were the sixth seed. The brand new York Jets is one other viable wild-card option (excluding the Broncos, Raiders, Titans and Texans, who could feasibly have a wild-card berth if they lose out on their division).

Assuming the Jets or Bengals face off against one of the likely third seeds (Oakland or Houston), either could proceed to the next round and face the top seed. That would mean the Steelers would face the second seed.

If the sixth seed team loses, the Steelers would face the third seed. That would mean among the teams we've already mentioned. That's more appealing than either likely matchup for any second seed: New England or Baltimore.

Let's consider all of those teams individually.

Offense vs. Pittsburgh

The Steelers did a great job in Week 8 of keeping the Patriots off the field. Once they were about the field, the Steelers took away Tom Brady's favorite targets (Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker and Aaron Hernandez) making him throw to Chad Ochocino or Deion Branch.

The game on offense against New England would be to always take the ball out of Tom Brady's hands for as long as possible. That's the way you beat the Patriots.
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Defense vs. Pittsburgh

The Baltimore defense were built with a much more challenge with the Steelers in their second game with Pittsburgh. Ben Roethlisberger was able to be effective and get the ball to his receivers regularly making sufficient plays to put the Steelers in place to win.

The running game would not be big against the Ravens, but play-action might be. The Ravens prefer to rush the passer continually within the same fashion because the Steelers, so trying to fake them and freeze them is a great ploy. Also, throwing into the blitz is always the ideal choice. The Baltimore secondary is passable, but doesn't have a genuine weapon beyond Ed Reed at this time.

Offense vs. Pittsburgh

The only method to beat the Ravens will be to stop playing the soft-zone coverage, particularly on third down. Pressing the Ravens receivers and keeping them against man coverage will force Joe Flacco to throw into tighter windows. He hasn't shown lots of stomach for your, and that he makes more mistakes that way.

The big key is on third down. The Steelers need to continue to bring the pressure on third down. They failed to do that within their second Baltimore match and located themselves allowing 14 third-down conversions. If they stop a few of those, Baltimore never could have were built with a shot to win the overall game late.

So let's get really wild and assume the Steelers get past the Patriots or Ravens. They'd then face another remaining AFC seed. It could only be among the teams already mentioned or even the New York Jets. If it's the Jets, the game would be a complete rematch of last year's game in Pittsburgh.

Here is a take a look at the way it could unfold, even though this scenario is extremely, most unlikely.

New York Jets

Offensively, the Jets play right into Pittsburgh's strength. They throw the ball well but don't run much with Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson. Neither is indeed a threat to Pittsburgh.

The passing game is much better, but Mark Sanchez includes a bad history of getting harassed by pass-rushers, and that he has a lot of trouble with defenses that blitz regularly.

On defense, the Jets do pose a threat by having an above-average secondary, but their pass rush isn't nearly as good. Ben RoethlisbergerBen Roethlisberger Jersey is deadly with anywhere of time, therefore it is likely he might get plenty of plays off.

The Steelers also spread the field much better than anyone in the AFC, to ensure that would work from the Jets, nobody only have one big playmaker in pass coverage.

I'd rather not look too far into the crystal ball, but if Pittsburgh gets back towards the Super Bowl, here's who they might end up facing along with a brief snapshot of that matchup:

Green Bay Packers

A rematch of Super Bowl XLV would be interesting Hines Ward Jersey, especially given Pittsburgh willingness to throw the ball and Green Bay's awful pass defense. Still, this is a nightmare game for Pittsburgh's defense in some ways, but a game title that could be won even if it became a shootout.

Saints

I'd the Saints are a more likely Super Bowl team than Bay area due to their offense, but New Orleans might have a difficult time stopping the Pittsburgh offense with the weak play at corner they've been getting.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are loaded with weapons. They have a franchise qb, among the quickest players within the league at receiver, a flexible running back Hines Ward Jersey and a dependable tight end.

So why one thing the Steelers rank 19th within the league in scoring at 21.2 points per game? Looking at last week's game the scoring problems can be placed on their red-zone efficiency.

Pittsburgh doesn't score enough touchdowns when down within the opponent's 20-yard line.

For the season, Pittsburgh has converted on 18-of-37 red-zone attempts. Under 50 % for a team with this much talent is unacceptable.

This nearly cost them the game a week ago at Kansas City as Pittsburgh was just in a position to put 13 points about the board without success gain touchdowns on a couple of their three trips within the red zone.

Early in the game Pittsburgh had the ball within the Chiefs' 10-yard line and failed to score after Mike Wallace dropped what looked to become an easy touchdown. Mewedle Moore Hines Ward Jersey continued to fumble the ball which was recovered by Might for any touchback.

Improved efficiency at a negative balance zone from the Chiefs could have meant a blowout.

From the New England Patriots this year the Steelers dominated but struggled to finish the overall game. Though they came away with a 25-17 victory, Pittsburgh converted on only 2-of-5 attempts in the red zone.

The very next week the red zone cost the Steelers the game, and perhaps the division championship, from the Baltimore Ravens.

The Steelers only went 1-of-4 in the red zone and lost by a final score of 23-20 following a eleventh hour touchdown pass by Joe Flacco.

A significant part of the red-zone struggles originates from the weakness on the offensive line and lack of resolve for the ground game.

Pittsburgh will discover themselves seeking to choose the score from 10 yards out instead of attempt to get chunks of yardage. Obviously, they fight in picking up several or two yards on run plays this deep in their opponent's territory.

If it's not the possible lack of a running game then its Ben Roethlisberger getting pressured as well as sacked, particularly on third downs.

Pittsburgh needs to circumvent these two weaknesses and they need to use their players for their strengths and not always choose the finish zone shot on first down.

Bruce Arians has a plethora of talent to work with and Roethlisberger must notice that a brief pass on 1st or 2nd down can put them in stronger position gain. Quite simply, they don't have to score on a single play, though if they did can there be much better receiver within the league at going over the middle ultimately zone than Hines Ward?

If not looking towards Ward, Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders are excellent after the catch, specially the first couple of with rare acceleration that can beat most defenders Hines Ward Jersey.

Quick, short passes to any of these three could get chunks of yardage to place Pittsburgh in stronger position to score. Each one is able to breaking a tackle or putting on a proceed to potentially even score from the 10 on a quick slant.

Speaking of putting on moves, the Steelers have three talented running backs who have the skill set to catch the ball from the backfield, yet they're rarely utilized in the passing game that near to the goal line.

Rashard mendenhall is shifty and quick while Isaac Redman is surprisingly nimble and may run through tackles. Moore has a knack for finding open space as well.

Maybe most frustrating may be the insufficient roll outs close to the end zone. Teams score touchdowns on passes to their tight ends on roll outs every week.

Pittsburgh has two pretty good receiving tight ends in Heath Miller and Weslye Saunders. Saunders finally picked up his first touchdown Hines Ward Jersey reception last week.

Worst of all, however, may be the empty backfield set. There is nothing like telling the defense that you are going to toss the ball that close to the goal line. A well-designed draw could be deadly in this region of the field.

It doesn't matter what the answers are, however, Pittsburgh must improve their red-zone production. That's the only way that they can score more points and avoid the nail-biters that we all watched last week.

Pittsburgh must quit settling for three and begin putting touchdowns about the scoreboard.

On the night where their defensive backs gave Pittsburgh a number of man coverage assignments, the Steelers receivers finally encountered a rival whose individual talent kept them under control.

Sure, Antonio Brown made that amazing catch down the right sideline about the team's first possession of the overall game, a phenomenal effort which was partly negated by Mewelde Moore's subsequent lost fumble James Harrison Jersey.

Despite some struggles in recent weeks, most notably against Matt Moore from the Miami Dolphins, the KC secondary, complete with youth and promise, played to their potential on Sunday Night Football.

While the safeties helped to prevent explosive plays downfield, both corners demonstrated to a national audience the defensive backfield in KC is safely established with great players.

Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr counseled me over Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace. While the two receivers campaigned for penalties and dropped several key passes, including a touchdown in the endzone by Mike Wallace, it was clear that Carr and Flowers had the star wideouts contained.

Since Ben and also the receiving corp began to truly develop the kind of chemistry many fans hoped for within the offseason, few defenses have were able to place the clamps on the Pittsburgh passing game. For your, together with generally containing the Pittsburgh running attack, the Chiefs defense deserves props.

Regardless of the Steelers James Harrison Jersey offensive anemia at Arrowhead, Antonio Brown did manage 84 yards on four receptions, through the majority of his production came in the early phases of the contest. After the first quarter, both wideouts struggled to create plays.

While Brown got his yards at the begining of, Mike Wallace barely contributed at all, gathering two catches for 17 yards. His total yardage against the Chiefs was under his average per career reception.

In truth, a record-breaking start to 2011 bolstered Wallace into a different stratosphere; he will finish with one of the greatest pass catching seasons with a Steelers receiver, and he is really a threat on any down.

Still, after talks of 1,600 yards or?adare it's said?aa new NFL record dominated conversations about No. 17 in October, November ends with a new question:

Will Wallace even break Yancy Thigpen's record for yardage in one season with a Pittsburgh Steeler? Weeks ago, it seemed obvious that he would shatter Thigpen's total.

Currently, Wallace has 939 receiving yards from his 55 receptions, trailing Yancy's 1,398 yard effort from 1997. With fives games left, Wallace needs 459 yards to set the new franchise record. That would need a average of over 90 yards per contest.

Within the first seven games James Harrison Jersey of 2011, Wallace had four 100-yard efforts, five touchdowns and the low total was 76 yards. In the four most recent affairs, Mike has carried out with 70, 68, 54 and 17 yards with a lone score inside a downward progression. During the stretch, Brown has set up superior totals in three of 4 outings, bringing his season total to over 700 yards receiving despite a late start.

One good effort will erase any memory of the lackluster November, but it seemed that Wallace was far and away the best Black and Gold receiver. Now, that is up for debate, more due to Brown's rapid ascent into elite NFL receivers status than Wallace's coincidental drop-off.

While few would argue that both men are the near future (hopefully) of the offense at receiver, is it feasible that the team's best all-around wideout wears No. 84?

On a night of mixed emotions, Steelers Lamarr Woodley Jersey fans can wave their towels with pride this week regarding one part of the game: the defense balled!

The Pittsburgh Steelers will start another new offensive line combination a few days ago, based on this report, however this time around, there is no injury news to report with it Lamarr Woodley Jersey.

Doug Legursky is fully balanced and available for the Steelers coming out of the bye week. The backup center is placed to take over from long-term left guard Chris Kemoeatu because the team visits Kansas City this Sunday night.

Kemoeatu continues to be the one certainty (when healthy) from the team's guards because the revolving door at RG (which started spinning within the preseason) has thrown the coaching staff back to where they began.

Ramon Foster has reestablished himself, although I'm still trying to puzzle out why he was dropped in the first place, together with his solid showings this season in both pass protection and as a run blocker.

Foster watched as a plethora of teammates rotated interior and exterior his spot this season. Marcus Gilbert was the first name to be thrown into the right guard mix. Others discussed possibly moving Willie Colon to protect and re-signing Flozell Adams.

Second-year pro Chris Scott was eventually chosen as the leadoff batter in the preseason before quickly striking out. Tony Hills was on deck and impressed in preseason play, but nonetheless found his way to the Denver Broncos somehow.

Doug Legursky hardly performed a down at guard throughout the preseason but somehow started the very first three games Lamarr Woodley Jersey of year at RG. Then, the person that Foster originally replaced, Trai Essex, was signed in to the season and became an alternative choice for that team.

Eventually Foster, the first kind Tennessee tackle, found his way back in to the lineup and it has solidified the position.

Therefore, the moment someone mentioned another lineup change upfront, the most obvious thought ended up being to think that Foster could be returning to a backup role.

That said, it wasn't much of a surprise that Kemoeatu was the main one on his way to the bench. Kemoeatu is recognized as by many (most live beyond Pittsburgh and rarely watch the Steelers seemingly) as the team's best lineman.

While that assessment is a few way off, the reasoning for this is the fact that he used to be a staple of the Steelers' running game. A running game that the Steelers heavily trusted.

Kemoeatu excels at blowing open holes and is among the best pulling guards in the league. However his wherewithal to protect the passer, as well as his tendency for irrational decisions and costly penalties, make him less efficient within the Steelers' new offense.

The Steelers' new offensive identity doesn't depend on the run any longer. Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman and Mewelde Moore make way to Antonio Brown, Jerricho Cotchery and Mike Wallace as the focus of the Steelers' offense.

Using the running game now a complementary Lamarr Woodley Jersey part of the Steelers' game plan, Kemoeatu's value dwindles dramatically.

While Doug Legursky is also a better run blocker than pass protector, he does provide a more well-rounded overall game without the irrational decisions and penalties. Legursky isn't huge and is prone to bull rushes from opposing blitzers.

He does have more agile feet however and plays having a better base to operate in space.

The Steelers whole lines are much smaller than it was even last year. The slimline version of Max Starks is smaller, along with a far better pass protector than Johnathan Scott. Ramon Foster, like a former collegiate tackle, isn't a big guard while rookie Marcus Gilbert is very agile and quick unlike Flozell Adams from last season.

All of this should result in better pass protection for Ben Roethlisberger as his attempts increase with the Steelers' newfound weapons on the outside.

Sacrificing some quality in the running Troy Polamalu Jersey game makes it worth while when you have explosive players on the exterior who can rip off huge gains on a regular basis.

For as much flack that Bruce Arians generally receives, he doesn't get everything wrong. There is a reason why Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger talked him from retirement last year.

They took New England's game and threw it right back their way. As a result, the Steelers Ben Roethlisberger Jersey snuck out with a victory that very, very few people thought possible.

The Steelers used their tight end in the passing game. They discarded a so-so rushing attack in support of running with screens and short passes for their speedy receivers. They played man coverage on defense and kept their opponent off balance.

The Steelers held onto the ball for long periods of time and kept an unsafe offense impotent about the sideline.

In a nutshell, they did everything to New England that the Patriots were planning on doing to Pittsburgh. And they also did what the Patriots were certain they'd do: they won the overall game.

Lesson

Going toe foot with the consensus best quarterback in today's NFL, Ben Roethlisberger Ben Roethlisberger Jersey outplayed Tom Brady in every way and came away as the MVP of the game with a few of the greatest football in his career.

Analysis

Time to place the old argument to bed: Ben Roethlisberger is definitely an elite quarterback. He's in the same class as a healthy Peyton Manning, Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. There's no arguing it at this time. This guy is one of the best.

Against a team which has always found a method to frustrate him, Roethlisberger dominated. He showed that he is able to do anything it takes: take hits, throw deep, throw medium, throw short, scramble Hines Ward Jersey, whatever. He's got every tool that can fit in the toolbox.

Oh yeah. He can call a pretty fair game too. That no-huddle success that made New England pull its hair out? Which was all his handiwork. Bruce Arians lets him run the show once they go into that mode.

He earned one mistake: the interception. He rebounded from this by executing a nearly flawless drive that ended by having an Antonio Brown score.

Lesson

Mike Tomlin's mantra when it comes to injuries continues to be "next man up", with the understanding that the expectations don't change. That style is working wonders right now.

Analysis

James Farrior and Hines Ward? Out.

Lamarr Woodley? Hurt in the other half.

This could have gotten very ugly. The Steelers lost so many players for bits of this game it could have been easy had they lost to express the injuries just played too big a role Ben Roethlisberger Jersey.

Instead, they won since the backups stepped within an acquitted themselves well.

Stevenson Sylvester made his first career start and was solid. Chris Carter, save for just one penalty, didn't embarrass himself in his first action after replacing Lamarr Woodley.

Heath Miller literally role of possession receiver with sure hands (much like Ward).

It didn't matter who got hurt or when, the following guy up was every bit as motivated and able to play. This is a powerful thing. If the Steelers improve your health, they'll now have one of the deepest and best-prepared rosters in the NFL.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 7-3 after 10 weeks on and on into their bye primary the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.

In spite of being taken by the Ravens, Pittsburgh can still succeed the division simply because Baltimore thought that they'd already won the trophy because they had beaten the Steelers Hines Ward Jersey within the regular season.

I wonder why John Harbaugh did not obtain a Gatorade bath following the game against the Seahawks.

The Steelers did not panic after being destroyed through the Ravens in Week 1, after the offensive line and defense looked horrendous in Week 4 against the Texans and after being beaten with a last-second touchdown pass by Joe Flacco in Week 9.

After every loss, the Steelers have responded with at least two wins and the only thing stopping them in Week 11 is the bye.

Although the offensive line didn't have its game against the Bengals, they've done an excellent job since the debacle which was the first a month of the season.

The front office decided that having Ben Roethlisberger hit on every single play in every single game was most likely not conducive Hines Ward Jersey to another playoff run and re-signed Max Starks after the loss towards the Texans.

Roethlisberger has been simply spectacular this year, especially because of the terrible state from the offensive line to start the year.

Since throwing three interceptions from the Ravens in Week 1, Big Ben hasn't thrown several in a game and already has 2,877 yards creating the season.

Before getting hurt with a knee injury, Emmanuel Sanders had emerged in the offense, as well as in his absence, Antonio Brown has been on the tear.

Mike Wallace puts fear into every defense with his blazing speed and with the offensive line doing better, Heath Miller has been able to become a part of the offense instead of blocking every play Hines Ward Jersey.

Don't count out Hines Ward helping this offense the rest of the season with Jerricho Cotchery becoming more involved, the passing game is really as potent as ever.

This is all with the Steelers getting basically nothing from the rushing game which just contributed two touchdowns from Rashard mendenhall against the Bengals.

The Steelers might not find yourself getting that dominant rushing attack back this season, however, if Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman and Mewelde Moore can just provide any kind of balance then the offense could be unstoppable.

About the defensive side from the ball, the Steelers need Troy Polamalu to show up and start acting like the great player everyone knows he is.

Polamalu could be a disruptive force and his nonexistence has led to the Steelers defense being ranked dead last in takeaways.

Injuries also have hit the defense hard this year with James Harrison, James Farrior and LaMarr Woodley all missing time with various injuries.

Woodley may still miss the following two weeks with his hamstring injury, however, he is bound to become back in no time and pick up where he left off terrorizing quarterbacks.

After being declared too old at the outset of the growing season, the Steelers defense has greatly improved and particularly against the run.

The pass defense has only allowed one 300-yard passer the entire season which was against Joe Flacco and also the Ravens in Week 9.

Giving up a 92-yard touchdown James Harrison Jersey drive to the Ravens to let them win the overall game was disheartening, however, that did not end the season by any stretch from the imagination.

This team has not even come close to playing for their full potential yet and they still sit tied using the Texans for top record within the AFC at 7-3.

The Steelers come in the playoffs whether as a division winner or as a wild card and they will end the season as Super Bowl champions.