Steelers' approach could get them to playoffs, but it won't work there

I love the Steelers. Chris Simms does not.

I love them because they find ways to win games they shouldn't, and because (even though I was not a Steelers fan as a youth, I've lived in or close to Pittsburgh all of my life). Simms does not because, as they keep winning games they shouldn't, they potentially take up an eventually wasted seat at the playoff table.

There's a lot of truth to that. It's fun to see the Steelers consistently get outplayed but consistently hang around and inevitably find a way to win. It happened last night, with an 11-play, 92-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown — and a pair of defensive stands wrapped around a pathetic three-and-out effort from the offense.

And just as it appeared the Legend of Levis would grow exponentially, Steelers linebacker Kwon Alexander made a play and saved the day and that was that.

It's great to watch. The Steelers are usually not the better team. They nevertheless have emerged with more points than the other team more often than not. And, at 5-3, they're in position to make the playoffs, with an outside shot at winning the division.

But what happens when they get there? That's where Simms's concerns come from. Unless they somehow win the division, they'll be on the road. Away from the Field formerly known as Heinz. No Renegade. No (or at least not as many) Terrible Towels.

And no hang-around-and-find-out magic.

It happened two years ago, when an unlikely playoff berth resulted in a date with the Chiefs and a 42-21 blowout loss that was actually worse than the score suggests.

Is there a chance the Steelers improve between now and January? Yes. The current team is good enough to get past Week 18. The current team is not good enough to win a road game in the wild-card round. The current team will quite possibly take a spot away from a team that would have more than a snowball's chance of advancing beyond the first branch of the playoff tree.