Our weekly update though unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, there isn’t much movement heading into this Sunday. But there was a little and it trended in the wrong direction with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff odds seeing a small decline.
The two sites we use, Playoffstatus and 538, show similar results.
Playoffstatus has the team’s odds of making the playoffs dropping from 66% a week ago to 63%. They have, according to the site, just a 4% chance of winning the Super Bowl, sitting them in ninth place. These are still much better odds than the Baltimore Ravens, who have only a 41% chance of making the playoffs, putting the Steelers’ in the theoretical driver’s seat.
Meanwhile, 538 has the Steelers at a 67% chance to make the playoffs, down from 72% at last check. This still mostly comes from winning the division with 65% odds of doing so. Baltimore has only a 34% chance of making it.
The Cincinnati Bengals, as you’d expect, were downgraded to nearly virtually no chance of making the playoffs. Playoffstatus gives them only a 2% chance, the same as the Arizona Cardinals, and only slightly above the abysmal Carolina Panthers. 538 gives them 3% odds.
Back to Steelers/Ravens. The Ravens will kick things off first with a matchup against the Miami Dolphins. A Dolphins win is of course ideal but either way, the Steelers will get some help provided they can beat the New York Giants, something that’ll be no small task.
The Bengals will face the Philadelphia Eagles with the loser certainly eliminated from playoff contention. And the Cleveland Browns, mercifully, are on a bye. Huzzah.
