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Steelers get bad news for playoffs after Texans' win in Week 17
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- Steelers get bad news for playoffs after Texans' win in Week 17
Following the Houston Texans ' Week 17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers , the Pittsburgh Steelers are out of contention for the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
The Texans' 20-16 victory over the Chargers gives Houston a key advantage over Pittsburgh in the AFC playoff race .
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Even if Houston loses in Week 18 and Pittsburgh wins out, both teams would finish with an 11-6 record and a 9-3 conference record. The tiebreaker procedures would then move to common opponents, which favors the Texans.
Both the Steelers and the Texans have faced off against the Buffalo Bills , Baltimore Ravens , Indianapolis Colts , Los Angeles Chargers, and Seattle Seahawks this season — but Houston went 5-1 in those matchups, while Pittsburgh went 2-3.
The Steelers' only shot to earn the No. 3 seed was if both the Texans and the Jaguars lost out, resulting in Pittsburgh holding the conference record tiebreaker over Jacksonville .
The Steelers will have no choice but to settle for the No. 4 seed if they clinch a playoff spot, set to host the top wild-card team in the AFC — which would be the Buffalo Bills if the season ended today.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers playoff news: Texans' win ends Pittsburgh's No. 3 seed hopes
