Ben Roethlisberger was back on the field Sunday, but the results weren't good. The Steelers lost to the Chargers. (US Presswire)

With three regular-season games remaining, the NFL playoff field is still wide open for many teams.

Count the Pittsburgh Steelers among those in the hunt for spots in the AFC's postseason. Two of the top teams in the AFC, Houston (11-1) and New England (9-3), play in the Monday night game. The Patriots and Denver Broncos (10-3) already have clinched their division titles, while the Texans are in the playoffs but can still be caught by the Indianapolis Colts (9-4).

The Baltimore Ravens (9-4) hold the top spot in the AFC North, but the Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals -- at 7-6 each -- are also in the running for playoff spots. Two of the three are likely participants with the division title still up for grabs. The Steelers visit the Dallas Cowboys this week and end the regular season with home games against Cincinnati and the Cleveland Browns (5-8).

The Ravens face Denver and the New York Giants (8-5) at home and close the regular-season at Cincinnati. The Bengals are at Philadelphia (4-9) this week and cap the regular season at Pittsburgh and at home with Baltimore. So, despite all their injuries and issues this season -- they've lost to four teams with sub-.500 records -- all is not lost for the Steelers.

"I wouldn't say that we're mad or upset about it, but that's just how it is in the NFL,'' Steelers defensive end Ziggy Hood said. "There's a lot of parity. I don't believe the Chargers are a bad team. They just have a bad record. We don't have a very good record, either, but I don't think we're a bad team.

"I think we'd all like to have gone 16-0 this season, but that only has happened a couple times in NFL history during the regular season. That just wasn't in the cards for us, but we should continue to believe in ourselves and keep working hard to accomplish what we want to accomplish. That's still possible for us.''

Hood didn't believe it mattered much that the Ravens and Bengals also lost Sunday, although that kept alive the Steelers' slim shot at a division title. But nothing matters if the Steelers don't drastically change whatever has them playing poorly and even losing when they aren't expected to do that.

Maybe the preparation needs to be altered, and certainly the focus needs to sharpen in those games. Just ask running back Isaac Redman.

"We prepared the same way that we always prepare, so I don't think we took anybody lightly,'' Redman said. "You can't do that in this league, but we've lost to teams with losing records. You would think that we'd know that by now, but it happened again. So, we have to go back in the lab and work things out.

"It helps that the Ravens and Bengals lost, too, but it doesn't matter if we can't get back on track next week. So, we have to work hard to do that. We needed to win this game, but we didn't do it. So, that makes next week's game and the two after that even more important for us. And we need to remain focused.''

Follow Steelers reporter Chuck Finder on Twitter @CBSSteelers and @cfinder.