A week after vanquishing the Patriots and their demons to boost their position in a tight playoff race, the Steelers dropped a must-win game against the Saints in heartbreaking fashion, pushing them over the edge of the playoff cliff. On Sunday, the Steelers fell painfully short of upsetting the Saints, losing 31-28 in a back and forth thriller that included two killer mistakes in the fourth quarter, one of which set up the Saints for a game-winning score, the second of which sealed the loss when overtime seemed like an inevitability. 

With the win, the Saints have clinched the top seed in the NFC. The road to Atlanta in the NFC officially goes through New Orleans. 

But the story here isn't the Saints, a team that has been the presumptive top seed for a while now. The story is the Steelers, who lost a game they couldn't afford to lose. As a result, the Steelers are now trailing the Ravens in the AFC North by half a game heading into Week 17. To climb back over the playoff ledge, the Steelers won't just need to win next week. They'll also need the Browns to beat the Ravens in Week 17. 

The Steelers are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013.

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The game, as expected, featured a playoff type of atmosphere. The Steelers moved the ball early, but were forced to settle for two field goals while the Saints found the end zone twice with some help from the officials along the way. Leading 14-6, it looked like the Saints had a chance to pull away from the Steelers behind their red-hot defense. 

With 6:44 remaining in the half, the Steelers were backed up at their own 3-yard line. Fifteen plays, six minutes, three Antonio Brown first downs, a Jaylen Samuels touchdown, and a two-point conversion later, the Steelers tied the game at 14-14. Not to be outdone, the Saints mounted a quick go-ahead drive just before halftime thanks to Alvin Kamara's ability to create yards out of nothing.

At halftime, the Saints led 17-14, but it quickly became a 24-14 lead with a touchdown drive that was powered by Kamara, who caught a 42-yard pass that was almost entirely YAC and later scored a touchdown from in close. The Steelers responded thanks to JuJu Smith-Schuster and Brown, both of whom really began to find openings downfield. On back-to-back drives, Brown caught touchdown passes to turn a 10-point deficit into a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The teams exchanged mistakes midway through the fourth quarter. First, Steelers running back Stevan Ridley fumbled in Saints territory. On the Saints' ensuing drive, they saw their field goal get blocked. The Steelers responded by unsuccessfully faking a punt on their side of the 50, setting up the Saints with great field position on what would become their game-winning drive. 

The game came down to a goal-to-go sequence. With 1:33 remaining, the Saints had the ball at the 7. They needed a touchdown to win. On first down, a slant to Michael Thomas brought the Saints to the 2. On the next play, Brees rolled out and found Thomas coming back to the ball. Initially, the officials ruled Thomas down at the 1-inch line. But an automatic review determined Thomas breached the goal line, giving the Saints a three-point lead with 1:25 remaining after the extra point.

Brown kept the Steelers' hopes alive with an incredible sideline, toe-dragging catch on fourth-and-15. A tough grab by Smith-Schuster and a penalty took the Steelers to the 42-yard line with 41 seconds left. On the verge of field-goal range, Roethlisberger found Smith-Schuster inside field-goal range, but as Smith-Schuster went to the ground, he lost control of the ball and the Steelers lost control of their playoff fate. 

The Saints recovered and won the game, and put the Steelers' season on life support. 

The Steelers aren't dead yet, but they'll need some help from the 7-7-1 Browns to make the playoffs. Suddenly, the Browns are the key to the Steelers' playoff chances. Before the season, did anyone think the Browns would be fighting for an above .500 finish and holding the key to the Steelers' playoff dreams?

Saints offense breaks out of rut

Ever since that loss to the Cowboys, the Saints' offense has been sluggish. Consider the rut over. 

Against a Steelers defense that held the Patriots in check a week ago, the Saints broke out for 31 points and 370 yards. As he tries to catch up with Patrick Mahomes in the MVP race, Brees went 27 of 39 for 326 yards, one touchdown, no picks, and a 103.2 passer rating. Thomas was his primary target, catching 11 passes for 109 yards. You already saw their game-winning touchdown. But it was Kamara who sparked the Saints' offense with 105 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 touches. 

At the end of the first half, after the Steelers tied the game, Kamara carried the Saints into field-goal range with a huge catch and run.

On the other side of the break, Kamara put the Saints right back into Steelers territory.

A few plays later, he converted a third down with another catch. The drive ended with … you guessed it: a Kamara touchdown.

It wasn't all Kamara. This was the Saints' offense operating close to its peak. Mark Ingram got involved with the game's first touchdown. Ted Ginn returned and contributed 74 yards. The one area the Saints need to improve in is the running game, which mustered only 57 yards on 19 carries. 

But for an offense that has cooled off over the past month, Sunday marked progress. 

Antonio Brown takes over

In the leadup to the game, Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan questioned Roethlisberger's Hall of Fame credentials. He didn't emerge with a win, but Roethlisberger played about as well as expected against a strong defense, going 33 of 50 for 380 yards, three touchdowns, no picks, and a 108.8 passer rating. Along the way, he relied heavily on Brown, who took over the game in the second half.

Brown erupted for 14 receptions, 185 yards, and two touchdowns. 

Even his almost-catches are worthy of highlights.

In the second quarter, when the Steelers pieced together a 97-yard, eight-point drive, Brown picked up three first downs. On the final series, when the Steelers came up painfully short, he converted that fourth-and-15. On Sunday, he was everything the Steelers needed him to be. There wasn't much more he could've done.

JuJu (mostly) delivers

Despite battling an injury, Smith-Schuster declared himself good to go on Saturday with a tweet that endeared him to fantasy players everywhere.

And for 99 percent of the game, Smith-Schuster delivered. When Brown got off to a slow start, Smith-Schuster led the Steelers' air attack. He contributed throughout the game. He finished with 11 catches for 115 yards. But his night ended in heartbreak with that fumble that could be the defining moment of the Steelers' season. 

Awful penalty gifts Saints early TD

The Saints took a 7-3 lead in the first quarter when Ingram punched the ball into the end zone from one yard out, but the officials were really responsible for the score. The Saints were only in a position to score a touchdown because on fourth-and-1 from the 34-yard line, Brees launched a prayer toward Kamara in the end zone. The ball fell harmlessly to the turf, but the officials flagged the Steelers for an invisible pass-interference penalty, which moved the ball to the 1.

Don't blame the officials for the final result of the game. Mike Tomlin didn't.

The Steelers had nearly the entire game to overcome that mistake. They just couldn't.

Special teams matters!

On back to back series in the fourth quarter, the Steelers experienced the highs and lows of special teams. Surprisingly, neither of the plays involved erratic kicker Chris Boswell. 

The highs: In the fourth quarter, the Steelers blocked a field goal to retain a four-point lead.

But their offense couldn't turn the advantageous field position into insurance points. They lined up to punt from their own 42-yard line. You know what happened next: They tried to run a fake, but it didn't work.

The best part? They celebrated after the play, thinking they'd picked up the yardage when they were at least a full yard short of the line to gain.

Less than three minutes later, the Saints took a lead they wouldn't relinquish. As expected, Tomlin is taking heat for the fake.

Where's Brees?

On the Saints' first series of the game, Sean Payton subbed in Taysom Hill, who launched a deep ball toward the end zone, which is where the ball was picked off. To make matters worse, Sean Davis returned the interception 27 yards and a penalty tacked on 15 more yards.

Blame Payton for the interception. The designed plays for Hill are fine when they involve runs and trickeration, but there's no reason for Hill to be throwing deep bombs when Drew freakin' Brees is available.

What's next?

The Steelers get the Bengals at home in Week 17 while the Saints face the Panthers, also at home. With the top seed locked up, the Saints have no incentive to play their starters. The Steelers should be able to dismiss the Bengals with ease. Their hopes hinge on the Browns, who need to beat the Ravens for the Steelers to make the playoffs. 

Feel free to relive the game with our live blog below.