PITTSBURGH -- After two years on the outside, the Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the playoffs -- but they didn't do it with a win Sunday night.
Before kicking off against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night in what became the Steelers second-straight loss, the organization clinched a playoff bid when the Miami Dolphins' lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers failed to reclaim the No. 1 seed in the AFC, losing 26-15 to the Bills as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw two costly interceptions.
A win in Buffalo coupled with a Cleveland Browns loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night would have clinched the AFC North for the Steelers.
The Steelers entered Sunday in the top spot in the AFC because they owned the tiebreaker over the Chiefs based on a better conference record. The Steelers' previous loss was to the Washington Football Team, while the Chiefs fell to the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this season.
The Steelers -- at least on offense -- are dramatically different from the one that made it to the playoffs in 2017. Anchored by Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, that group won the AFC North with a 13-3 record and had a first-round bye. JuJu Smith-Schuster is the only remaining wide receiver who was on the team in 2017, and no running backs on this year's squad were on the team in 2017.
The Steelers lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round of the playoffs that season, falling 45-42 at Heinz Field.
