Football Footnotes: Steelers-Ravens part of top-heavy NFL viewing slate full of AFC playoff implications

Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-2) and Baltimore Ravens (7-3) is one of a few excellent contests across the NFL this week.

A few.

Things are kind of top-heavy in the NFL these days. There are 11 teams with only two or three wins. Then, a big, mushy middle with eight teams at four or five wins as the “race” to sneak into the bottom of the playoff tree looks pretty slow.

However, as CBSSports.com pointed out heading into Thursday night’s Eagles-Commanders game, this week’s regular-season lineup featured three games in which every team entered with at least seven wins.

That’s a first.

All three matchups — Washington vs. Philadelphia, Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh and Kansas City vs. Buffalo — currently profile as potential playoff previews. They all map out at separate times in the national viewing windows as well.

That’s good because the rest of the Week 11 schedule isn’t worth your time. You are better off watching the Pengu… well, let’s not get carried away.

For this Friday’s “Football Footnotes,” let’s preview this week’s NFL viewing options as well as the local college schedule for Saturday.

• After Philadelphia (8-2) won Thursday night’s NFC East showdown for first place over Washington (7-4) by a score of 26-18, the Steelers-Ravens game is by far the best game on the NFL slate at 1 p.m.

The Steelers are field-goal underdogs at home, according to ESPNBet.

The other seven games all feature at least one of the teams involved under .500. According to “506 Sports,” a vast majority of the country will get the Steelers-Ravens game on television via the first half of CBS’ doubleheader with Ian Eagle and Charles Davis on the call. They just did the Steelers-Commanders game as well.

On Fox, most early viewers will see the Bears (4-5) and Packers (6-3). Late viewers are mainly getting Seattle (4-5) at San Francisco (5-4).

• The second half of the CBS doubleheader has major AFC playoff implications. The 8-2 Buffalo Bills host the 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs.

If the Steelers win and the Bills lose, Pittsburgh would be headed into their Thursday night game against the Cleveland Browns in second place overall in the AFC, with a game against first-place Kansas City looming at Acrisure Stadium on Christmas.

Buffalo is favored by two points.

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• The Sunday night game also has tangible AFC playoff fallout. The 4-6 Cincinnati Bengals are in Los Angeles to play the Chargers.

Currently, L.A. is in the second wild card slot of the AFC at 6-3. But if the Bengals were to win, a 5-6 record could place them in a tie for the final AFC playoff spot, depending on what the Denver Broncos (5-5) and Indianapolis Colts (4-6) do this week.

Denver hosts Atlanta, and Indy is in New York to play the Jets.

• The Monday night game also has an AFC playoff team in it. The Houston Texans are 6-4 atop the struggling AFC South. They visit the 3-6 Dallas Cowboys as 7.5-point favorites for an intrastate clash.

• On the college front, Pitt gets the day going at noon at Acrisure Stadium against traditional ACC power Clemson. With the Panthers (7-2) dropping two in a row, the 20th-ranked Tigers come in as an 11.5-point favorite.

The Tigers enter play at 6-1 in ACC action behind only conference-leading SMU. The Mustangs are 5-0 in ACC games, 8-1 overall and ranked 14th.

Ninth-ranked Miami is third at 5-1, then it’s 19th-rated Louisville at 4-2 in the ACC. Pitt is fifth at 3-2.

As for Penn State, the Nittany Lions kickoff at 3:30 p.m. in Indiana against the Purdue Boilermakers. Fourth-ranked PSU is a 28.5-point favorite.

Finally, West Virginia (5-4, 4-2 Big 12) is a two-point underdog at home to Baylor (5-4, 3-3). That’s a 4 p.m. kickoff.

• Meanwhile, on the FCS level, Duquesne has a chance to clinch the NEC title and a bid to the FCS playoffs for a second consecutive year.

And their local rivals could help the process.

If the Dukes (7-2, 4-0 NEC) beat Wagner (4-6, 2-2) at home at noon Saturday, they’ll secure at least a share of the title.

If Duquesne wins and Robert Morris (6-4, 3-1) defeats Central Connecticut State (5-5, 3-1) on the road, that’ll give the Dukes the title and the playoff berth.

Should CCSU win this week, the Dukes and Blue Devils will play a winner-take-all matchup next Saturday in New Britain for the league’s automatic bid.

1 game at a time. pic.twitter.com/ECjNNePvxx

— Duquesne Football (@DuqFB) November 12, 2024

The Dukes beat CCSU, 44-20, on The Bluff last season. They also beat Wagner on Staten Island, 34-26.

LISTEN: Talking Pitt-Clemson and the basketball Backyard Brawl with Jerry DiPaola.