PITTSBURGH -- The 8-7 Kansas City Chiefs no longer control their playoff fate. By losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-12 on Sunday, they forfeited their win-and-get-in destiny.

Now they need to beat the San Diego Chargers next Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium and get help from some of their friends around the league.

The Chiefs will make it to the postseason if in next week’s games:

• The Chiefs beat the Chargers and

• The Houston Texans lose at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars and

• The Baltimore Ravens lose at home to the Cleveland Browns.

So while the formula is clear, the chances of all that happening aren’t very good, even if the Chiefs take care of business against the Chargers.

Then again, the Chiefs have some history. They made the playoffs as a wild-card entrant in 2006 after a similar bunch of unlikely results came through for them.