Even in defeat, Steelers clinch 4th playoff berth over past 5 seasons
PHILADELPHIA — The Pittsburgh Steelers lost the battle Sunday, but they won the season-long war that involves qualifying for the playoffs.
Despite a 27-13 defeat against the Philadelphia Eagles that dropped them to 10-4, the Steelers qualified for the postseason by way of losses by the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts.
The Denver Broncos beat the visiting Colts, 31-13, at the same time the Steelers were losing in eastern Pennsylvania. Miami lost 20-12 at the Houston Texans earlier Sunday afternoon.
“That’s cool,” cornerback Joey Porter Jr. said of making the playoffs, “but we lost (Sunday).”
That pretty much summed up the Steelers’ thoughts about making the playoffs for the 12th time over Mike Tomlin’s 18 seasons as coach.
“I didn’t even know that,” safety Damontae Kazee said of clinching a playoff spot. “I was just working to try to get a win today. That (playoff berth) doesn’t mean (crap) right now. We have just got to handle our business.”
The Steelers can clinch the AFC North title with a victory Saturday at the rival Baltimore Ravens (9-5).
“It’s good that we made the playoffs, but we wanna win,” defensive back Beanie Bishop said. “We wanna be able to have a home game in the playoffs, and we wanna win the division.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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