There is a scene in what is arguably the best movie ever made, "Dumb and Dumber," in which Lloyd asks Mary what the chances are that they will end up together.

Mary says they aren't very good — one out of a million to be exact.

At first, Lloyd looks crushed, then he flashes a giddy grin and exclaims, "So you're telling me there's a chance? ... Yeah!"

That scene is playing out all over the American Football Conference.

Mary is the playoffs. Lloyd is the eight teams still in the hunt for the two wild-card spots.

Count the Pittsburgh Steelers among them.

About 13 days ago, the Black and Gold had about three feet of dirt shoveled on them after a 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Oh, how quickly things — and perceptions — change.

Now, the Steelers have just as good of a chance as anyone to slip into the playoffs.

Better than one-in-a-million, that's for sure.

Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace made sure of that Sunday with a dramatic throw and catch on the game's final play that saved a season.

Plays like the Wallace snag are what defines a season and a team.

Suddenly, the Steelers are riding a wave of confidence heading into a de facto playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday.

Win that one and get a little help from other teams and the Steelers could head to Miami needing just to win to crash the AFC playoff party.

And no one wants to see the Steelers as guests.

I didn't go to MIT — I don't have the IQ of Albert Einstein — so I have no idea what all the playoff scenarios are in the AFC.

I just know this: The Steelers would be one scary fifth or sixth seed.

Hearken back to the 2005 season. The Steelers had one cleat in the grave with four games remaining, won them all and got into the playoffs.

There are some striking similarities between that team and the 2008 one.

Cincinnati won the AFC North that season.

The Bengals are the front-runners to win the division now.

The Indianapolis Colts were pursuing a perfect record.

The Colts are 14-0.

The Steelers themselves, though, are radically different.

The 2005 team lost three straight, two of them to division winners.

During the five-game skid this season, the Steelers lost to the dregs of the NFL: Cleveland, Oakland and Kansas City.

The 2005 team relied on defense and a serviceable, run-oriented offense.

This team has a defense with more leaks than the Titanic and an offense that could be the best in team history.

Does that equal another improbable run to the Super Bowl?

Who knows?

But as Lloyd would say through his Michael Strahan-like front teeth: "There's a chance."

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.