The Pittsburgh Steelers scored a game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes with less than a minute remaining to beat the Baltimore Ravens, 13-9, today in Baltimore. The outcome clinched the AFC North for the Steelers and gave a boost to the Patriots' playoff hopes.

The loss dropped the Ravens to 9-5, the same record as New England. The Ravens maintain a tie-breaker edge because of their superior conference record, so the Patriots will probably have to beat Baltimore outright in order to win the wild-card spot.

The Ravens must travel to Dallas next week to play the Cowboys; a loss there combined with a Patriots win over the Cardinals would put New England in control of the second wild-card spot in the AFC. If Baltimore beats Dallas, then they get to face non-contending Jacksonville in the final week of the season.

And what about Miami, which is also 9-5, or New York? These teams play each other in the final week of the season, and both of them currently hold tie-breaker advantages over the Patriots within the division. If New England wins out, then the Jets and the Dolphins are basically faced with a situation in which they either win both of their remaining games and thereby claim the division, or lose either one and go home.

If New England finishes 11-5 and the Ravens, Jets and Dolphins all finish 10-6, the Ravens would probably get the wild-card spot because their conference record is currently better than New York's or Miami's.