5 things we learned from Steelers 27, Jaguars 3:

1. Playoff posturing

Once thought of as a game that could help decide the top spot in the AFC North, the Thanksgiving matchup between the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens has undergone a change in storylines.

For the Steelers, it is a chance to maintain an unbeaten season and the top seed in the AFC. For the suddenly slumping Ravens, it’s win or be eliminated from the division title picture. That’s a stunning fall from grace for the two-time defending AFC North champs and owner of the NFL’s best record in 2019.

A loss for the Ravens would drop them to 6-5 and put them five games behind the Steelers with five to play. That would leave the 7-3 Cleveland Browns as the only team with a mathematical chance of catching the Steelers for the division title.

The Steelers can clinch a playoff berth with a victory against the Ravens and losses by the Miami Dolphins (at the 0-9 New York Jets) and Oakland Raiders (at the 3-7 Atlanta Falcons).

Thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs’ last-minute comeback against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night, the Steelers still don’t have any margin for error in the race for the No. 1 seed and first-round bye in the AFC.

The Chiefs, at 9-1, remain on the Steelers’ heels. Since the teams don’t play this season, the first tiebreaker for playoff positioning is conference record. The Steelers are 7-0 against AFC opponents, the Chiefs 8-1.

If the Steelers and Chiefs tie for the AFC’s top record at, say 15-1, it would be helpful if the Steelers’ only loss was against an NFC team. Yet, just one remains on the schedule: a home game against 3-7 Washington. The Chiefs have three: at Tampa Bay, at New Orleans and at home against Atlanta.

The second tiebreaker is win percentage against common opponents. This year, that means games against Houston, Baltimore (twice for Steelers), Buffalo and Denver (twice for Chiefs). A loss to Baltimore on Thanksgiving or at Buffalo in December would hurt the Steelers in this scenario. The Chiefs have only Denver remaining on their schedule among that quartet of teams.

The next tiebreaker is strength of victory. The league’s website has the Chiefs with a .407 percentage in this category and the Steelers at .400.

By the way, the combined record of the Steelers’ remaining opponents is 32-27-1. For the Chiefs, it is 31-29.

2. Do it, Tuitt

Stephon Tuitt extended the Steelers’ streak of consecutive games with at least one sack to 67 when he brought down rookie quarterback Jake Luton for a 9-yard loss in the third quarter. Tuitt also forced a fumble on the play which Luton recovered.

The sack was his seventh of the season, setting a career best. A year ago, Tuitt was rehabbing a torn pectoral muscle that limited him to six games.

With six games remaining, Tuitt has a chance to reach double figures in sacks, which potentially could give the Steelers three players with at least 10 sacks. T.J. Watt leads the team and is tied for third in the NFL with nine. Bud Dupree picked up his eighth of the year by recording the Steelers’ second sack of Luton.

Tuitt was one of the biggest question marks entering the season given that the Steelers signed him to a $60 million extension before the 2017 season. He’s managed to stay healthy and is on track to play in all 16 games for the first time since his rookie season in 2014.

3. Tight squeeze

With Vance McDonald on the reserve/covid-19 list, the Steelers couldn’t afford to have their depth weakened further at tight end. Then, Zach Gentry exited after six snaps with what coach Mike Tomlin called a “significant” knee injury.

Until McDonald’s positive test, Gentry couldn’t get a helmet on game day. Two games later, it appears his season is over.

A return by McDonald this week would alleviate concerns about the Steelers depth heading into the Ravens game. And it could scale back the use of Eric Ebron, who played a season-high 70 snaps against Jacksonville. McDonald is a valued blocker in the run game, and with Gentry out of the game, the Steelers needed to use center J.C. Hassenauer as an extra blocker when they went to a jumbo package for one snap.

Pine-Richland’s Kevin Rader remains on the practice squad as does recently signed Charles Jones.

4. Diontae’s inferno

In any given week, Ben Roethlisberger’s preferred wide receiver can vary between any of four candidates. It was Diontae Johnson’s turn in the spotlight against Jacksonville, and he responded with the most active game of his two-year career.

Johnson was targeted 16 times and finished with a career-high 12 catches which resulted in 111 yards. The previous week, he was targeted 11 times with six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.

Against Cincinnati, Johnson did all of his work in the first half when he was targeted on 10 of Roethlisberger’s 27 attempts. A familiar script ensued against Jacksonville. Johnson was targeted 10 times on 25 passes in the first half when he caught eight balls for 97 yards.

Johnson has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the Steelers’ spread-it-out, four receiver scheme that has worked to such great success in the past month. His numbers over the past three weeks are 37 targets, 24 receptions, 304 yards and one touchdown.

5. Oh, snap

The CBS announce crew of Ian Eagle and Charles Davis tried its best not to mention Chris Boswell’s streak of 25 consecutive field goals when he trotted onto the field for a 45-yard attempt with 8:51 left in the first quarter.

Then, the Jaguars called a timeout before Boswell could attempt his kick. Icing the kicker in the first quarter? That’s a new one. But it worked. Boswell’s try sailed wide to the left.

It hardly was his fault, though. Kam Canaday’s snap was low and inside to holder Jordan Berry, who did a good job of getting the ball in place with the laces out for Boswell. It still disrupted the rhythm and ended Boswell’s streak.

Boswell then began a new one by making field goals of 44 and 47 yards.

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