Bengals, Steelers Remaining Schedules Are Extremely Favorable

When the Bengals beat the Steelers on Sunday, they came about as close as is possible to wrapping up a division in the middle of November. Cincinnati now effectively has a two-game lead in the division (thanks to their head-to-head tiebreaker advantage) with seven games to go. But more than anything, the easy schedule for the AFC North make it clear that we'll likely see at least two AFC North teams in the playoffs.

As we mentioned last week, the remaining Bengals schedule puts Cincinnati in a very clear driver's seat in the AFC North. Cincinnati's next three games are against the Raiders (2-7), Browns (1-7) and Lions (1-7).

Anything is possible -- as the Bengals' near loss to the Browns earlier in the season showed -- but those are three games where Cincinnati will be heavy favorites. The schedule does get tougher after that with games against the Vikings (8-1) and Chargers (6-3), but Cincinnati ends the season with games against the Chiefs (2-7) and Jets (4-5). Being conservative, the worst-case scenario for the Bengals (barring a collapse) is a 4-3 finish, which would leave Cincinnati at 11-5. But 13-3 seems just as likely.

If that happened, Pittsburgh would have to go 12-4 to win the division, which means a 6-1 finish. While that seems very difficult, the Steelers' schedule to end the season is favorable for a run -- Pittsburgh plays only one game against a team with a winning record. Two games against Baltimore (4-4) are the toughest left on Pittsburgh's schedule. Pittsburgh also has games left against the Chiefs (2-7), Raiders (2-7), Browns (1-7), Packers (5-4) and Dolphins (4-5).

No Steelers-Ravens game is easy, but if Pittsburgh can get healthy, it has the schedule to go on a 7-0 run to end the season (much like it did in the run to the Super Bowl in 2005). Of course with the Bengals' remaining schedule finishing 13-3 might not be enough to win the division.